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Thursday, June 03, 2004
Work extension rejected
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 Director Juanito Abergas finds no reason for the contractor of the Cebu South Road project to extend its completion for another eight months.
Although Abergas admits that the government still owes contractor Aboitiz Construction Group Inc. (ACGI)-Kumagai Gumi Co. Ltd. about P4.249 million for its counterpart for the works, he said ACGI already received P20.386 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation as of March 30, 2004.
“The government portion is only very small compared to the foreign counterpart. They (ACGI) have to present documents why the project will be dragged for eight months. The government will not allow that,” Abergas said.
He assured the immediate completion of the project, which President Arroyo, in a visit Tuesday, asked DPWH Secretary Florante Soriquez to look into.
Upon Arroyo’s instructions, Soriquez visited the area with DPWH officials early yesterday morning, before he left for Negros to inspect other government projects.
Arroyo, who visited a P580-million irrigation project in Carcar, Cebu Tuesday morning, saw and was saddened by the condition of the road originally built by her grandfather, Juan Macaraig.
Abergas, who just arrived from Davao City for a seminar yesterday, said he is yet to receive updates from DPWH Assistant 7 Director Isabelo Mascardo on Soriquez’s instructions.
Aside from Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia, who promised to monitor the completion of the project, Cebu City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said the President also asked him to submit updates to Malacañang.
Although DPWH 7 only acts as a monitoring office, Abergas said they are not remiss in their duties since they are making sure the project will meet its target completion date in January next year.
They are “continuously following up” with the Department of Budget and Management the release of payments for the contractor and the P14 million needed for the road right-of-way (RROW)acquisition.
They are waiting for the release of the notices of cash allocation for both payments, which Abergas believes are delayed due to bureaucracy.
If they make official their opposition to the extension filed by the contractor, this will be the second time DPWH will do this.
In a letter response to the contractor’s March 8 letter for suspension of work due to delays in payment, Mocamad Raki-in Sr., DPWH assistant secretary, pointed out that despite the non-payment of government’s counterpart, the contractor has “sufficient funds for its operational expense.”
Under the contract, the contractor is required a standby credit line equivalent to four months’ worth of expenses or 10 percent of the contract cost, totaling to about P140 million for the two contract packages of the P785.17-million project.
“Dapat gawin nila (ACGI) is to work and work in line with the terms and provisions of the contract,” he added.
Members of the infrastructure development committee of the Regional Development Council 7 were informed, through a report, that ACGI-Kumagai asked for an eight-month extension of the contract that was supposed to be finished by Jan. 29, 2005.
Due to delays in the payment, the RROW cost of P10 million increased by P4.3 million.
Councilor Jakosalem, who had Arroyo as wedding sponsor, said he had informed the President of the condition of the road two weeks ago when he was traveling to Dumanjug, his family’s hometown.
Since he visits the southern town every two weeks, he plans to take a video footage of its condition and send it to Arroyo.
According to project monitoring reports, delays in both packages are now in the “terminal stage” with one of the sections already falling 46 percent behind of schedule.
(June 3, 2004 issue)
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