Friday, June 30, 2006
From cement to 'comfort room' scam
By Christine Mae Pelayo
ASIDE from the controversy involving bags of cement, the City Government is yet to face another issue.
This time it involves the alleged non-delivery of materials amounting to P65,231 which is for the maintenance of the public plaza comfort rooms.
A concerned citizen furnished Sun.Star documents to substantiate the alleged irregularities.
The undelivered materials include five water closet flush valve amounting to P35,000; 12 strap with streamer, P4,260; 20 tank fittings, P11,500; two water closets, flexible supply, P7,700; four doorknobs, P1,116; three half clear global luminaire, P2,325; four head spears, P2,140 and two spades amounting to P1,190.
The 37-page document on the alleged anomalous transaction made for the maintenance of the comfort rooms at the public plaza include copies from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) program of works and the City Government program of works, purchase orders and requests, receipts from the winning bidder, disbursement vouchers, inspection and acceptance reports from the General Services Office (GSO) and Management Audit Service Office (Maso), copies from Bids and Awards Committee and obligation slip.
In the document, it shows that only one bidder participated in the bidding - the New Villa Car Enterprises.
The concerned citizen said the original business of New Villa Car is car parts and accessories and the permit on the selling of construction materials was only added in its (New Villa Car) business permit in 2004.
The source also claimed that some of the supplies were delivered in advanced as early as September and October and that the conduct of bidding was a rigged one.
In the DPWH program of works for its project on the improvement/renovation of the multipurpose building at the Bacolod Public Plaza, it shows that the appropriation for the said project amounted to P1 million.
The document further shows that Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia concurred in the program of works of the district office of DPWH in Sept. 1, 2005.
On Dec. 5, 2005, the city mayor also approved the purchase orders for the maintenance of the public plaza and various comfort rooms amounting to P203,634.65 and the funds were taken from the city coffers.
The source stressed that the purchase request is a duplication of the DPWH project.
Further, the concerned citizen said that Danilo Villalobos, a foreman assigned at the Public Plaza refused to accept the deliveries from New Villa Car because some supplies in the delivery receipt were not delivered.
But the source added, Jose Solilapsi, GSO officer-in-charge, accepted and signed the delivery though some materials were undelivered.
The source said "Solilapsi as OIC of GSO should refrain himself from accepting deliveries because the actual end user of the materials is the plaza foreman."
Furthermore, the source claimed that Solilapsi is connected with New Villa Car. The source added that the alleged anomalous transactions should be investigated as it involve the people's money.
(June 30, 2006 issue)
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