Pamintuan: City Government projects not anomalous

ANGELES CITY -- Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan said Thursday that the City Government has not implemented “anomalous projects” monitored and checked by the City Project Monitoring Committee (CPMC) of the Local Development Council (LDC).

Pamintuan issued the statement following a letter-complaint made by broadcaster Medardo David to the Office of the President, alleging that the findings of the CPMC reported certain infrastructure projects of the City Government as “overpriced, poorly planned and poorly constructed.”

The mayor received a letter from the Malacañang Legal Affairs Office, dated February 7, 2013, and was asked to provide necessary comments regarding the allegations.

In his reply and contrary to the claim of David, Pamintuan said there were no irregular projects reported by the CPMC.

“The committee, which is very active from its creation up to now, presented its observations including perceptions of some of its members during one formal sessions of the LDC last year. These observations were properly answered and clarified during the said meeting,” the mayor said.

Pamintuan created and activated the CPMC in 2011 as part of the policy of his administration to ensure transparency, a major component of his program for good governance.

“I am surprised why the alleged observations of the CPMC are now being used against me and my administration when it is a known fact that the said committee reports to me through the City Planning and Development Office, and is directly administered by the Office of the Mayor,” Pamintuan stated in his explanation.

Pamintuan also noted the following in his reply:

* The alleged “poor planning” for the projects in Barangays Amsic and Anunas was a baseless perception as the projects underwent the required process of identification by the concerned offices of the city government and approval of the LDC;

* There was no additional cost incurred by the city government involved on the alleged variance relative to the road construction at Angeles-Magalang Road;

* On the Office of the city’s Persons with Disabilities Office (PWDO) not being “PWD friendly.” The City Government was very transparent with regard to the construction of the said office. Since the construction of the office was under warranty, the contractor was notified to install the necessary facilities such as ramps, hand railings, etc immediately;

* On allegation of “perceived overpricing” of the Legislative Building. The building is about 85 percent complete. It was the past administration which determined the costs of the project. In other words the project, which we inherited from the past administration, is still unfinished. We cannot see any basis how the alleged overpricing occurred on a project that is yet to be completed;

* On the issue of the restrooms at the Pampang Public Market: the amount allotted for the repair of the eight restrooms totaled P600,000 or P75,000 per restroom. It must be considered that these are public restrooms and the government can only regulate, not prohibit, the use of these restrooms. Public restrooms as they are, they were constructed for the free use of the public and we cannot be picky as to who should or could use them. As such, daily use will definitely affect the physical appearance of the restrooms.

“We believe that the letter of Mr. David, who is a very close associate of Congressman Carmelo ‘Tarzan’ Lazatin, my political opponent this coming May elections, is bereft of truth and nothing but a political move to destroy my credibility as the incumbent city mayor,” Pamintuan said in his letter.