Rizal oval deal above board, says Garcia

Have no fear, nothing’s fishy out here.

This was the assurance made by Philsoc sports operations committee chairman Ritchie Garcia yesterday as he allayed fears that contracts for the renovation of several venues for this year’s Southeast Asian Games are being awarded under clouds of suspicion.

Garcia, one of four commissioners at the Philippine Sports Commission, occupies one of the most sensitive positions in the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee, a private group tasked to oversee the planning and actual staging of the biennial event in November.

Garcia cited the ongoing renovation of the Rizal Memoral track oval as an example. Worth P21 million, the contract was awarded to Intersurface of Singapore through its Philippine representative, Specicon Phils., without going through a formal bidding.

Garcia explained that it need not go through a bidding simply because the money to be spent here is non-government. The money will come from the private sector, passing through the marketing program initiated by Philsoc under chairman Roberto Pagdanganan.

"The funds are non-government. As of this moment, we haven’t used any government fund in projects like this," explained Garcia, adding that the absence of a formal bidding doesn’t necessarily mean that there was only one contractor that was considered.

"This is what is called negotiated sales or negotiated contracts. But this doesn’t mean na isa lang ang kausap namin. We gathered other offers and all the different suggestions and considerations before we even get into the canvassing. Walang lutuan dito.

"We asked for several quotations. And even if you come up with the lowest bid, we still check the prices on the internet. Pag mas-mababa pa doon we will immediately inform you and tell you na babaan mo pa. Otherwise, sa internet kami kukuha," he said.

Erlina Cheng, managing director of Specicon Phils., also gave the assurance that the materials to be used in the renovation of the track oval — Conica of Switzerland — will live up to international standards. She added that the materials to be used carry a five-year warranty.

"It’s one of the best in the world. All materials to be installed are certified by the International Amateur Athletics Federation. Then at the end of the project, we need another certification from the IAAF and we even have to pay them $10,000 for this certification," she said.