Wednesday, August 15, 2007 COA told to investigate gov’t center By Ma. Ester L. Espina
THE loan for the P400 million budget for the new government center project is yet to be approved.
But the Commission on Audit Regional and Adjudication Office in Iloilo City has sent a directive to all the City officials of Bacolod to file their comment on the complaint filed by Victor Eduardo on the alleged irregularities hounding the project.
Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said Tuesday that his office has already received a letter from Sate Auditor Viola P. Villanueva last July 10, 2007, enclosing a letter dated March 23, 2007 from the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas asking them to comment on the alleged irregularities on the bidding and construction of the new government center.
Ironically, Sayson told reporters that they don’t have a copy of Eduardo’s complaint yet.
“However, since we were directed to make our comment, we will make our comment basing only the letter from COA Regional Legal and Adjudication Office,” the vice mayor said.
Eduardo filed a complaint for grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct and criminal charges for violation of Section 3 (e) and/or Section3 (h) of RA 3019 against Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia and the former members of the City Council that include former vice mayor Renecito Novero, Councilors Greg Gasataya, Ana Marie Palermo (former), Jocelle Sigue, Homer Bais, Dindo Ramos, Sayson, Napoleon Cordova, Al Victor Espino and Marx Louie dela Rosa.
Also included in the complaint are Bids and Awards Committee chair Goldwyn Nifras, City Administrator Rogelio Balo, Engineer Efren Canlas, owner of the Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation, Ms. Gilda Pico, President of Land Bank of the Philippines and Jeffrey Maningo, local head, Land Bank of the Philippines.
Victor Eduardo, a taxpayer filed this complaint before the Ombudsman-Visayas through Virginia Palanca-Santiago.
Palanca-Santiago then directed the COA Regional and Adjudication Office in Western Visayas to conduct a special audit on the new government center last March 23, 2007.
Sayson believes that there is no overpricing on the new government center.
It’s a question of using between quality materials as against sub-standard ones, said Eduardo who filed a complaint of overpricing when the government center construction was not yet started.
“I don’t know what they meant by overpricing. It’s given that we will use first class construction materials because the government center is a show window of Bacolod City. I know that anybody has the right to file a complaint. But I feel that this one, especially the latest complaint he filed against the city officials and officials of the Philippine National Bank, I could sense a deliberate effort to delay the completion of the project,” Sayson said.
