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Saturday, August 19, 2006
Tomas ‘wanted to be boss’: Fr. Engelen
By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
With Jeanette P. Malinao
Despite the cancellation of funding from the Dutch Government and the bad publicity they got, the University of San Carlos-Water Resource Center (USC-WRC) officials believe their project was successful and will be useful to LGUs in Metro Cebu.
USC-WRC founding director Fr. Herman van Engelen also defended his group against Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s accusations that they made money from the Water Remind Project.
Even if they did not finish the P185-million project, Engelen said their output will be very helpful to local government units (LGUs) in giving their constituents access to safe potable water.
Action plan
One of the outputs is a 15-year action plan drafted by Dutch technical consultants, which guides LGUs in developing water sources and ensuring continuous water supply in Metro Cebu in the next 25 years.
At this point, Engelen said, it is up to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and the LGUs to work with the private sector so the projects prescribed in the action plan could be funded.
USC-WRC turned over all the feasibility studies and details of the action plan to MCWD last month.
“Our staff did not make money from this project. As far as WRC is concerned, Water Remind is a successful project because we were able to come up with the action plan,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
“The only reason the funding was cut off is the lack of political platform to support the project. It was blown up by the mayor.
He wanted to be the boss but the Dutch Government would not agree to it,” said Engelen, a Dutch national.
However, Gov. Gwendo-lyn Garcia said that the statement from another WRC official that the failure of the project was because of the refusal of the governor and the Cebu City mayor to cooperate is “very irresponsible.”
Water Remind Project director Fe Walag said in an earlier interview that they complied with some of the requirements but failed on capability building for managerial skills after the governor and the mayor withdrew their support.
“That’s a very irresponsible remark from Walag, who knows very well the real reason why the Dutch Government pulled out,” Garcia said in a press conference yesterday.
“I was told by the (Dutch) ambassador himself, and it had nothing to do with the non-participation of the governor and the mayor. I wish to spare her the embarrassment, but if she continues to look for a scapegoat, I might (reveal) point by point the questionable transactions under their watch, for which the mayor and the governor have no control over and which prompted the pullout of the Dutch Government and the revocation of its agreement with WRC,” she said.
When asked what the questionable transactions were, Garcia answered: “The processes would seem to indicate that it was all spending and no output and in many cases double charging... The studies that are rehash of what’s already been there, perhaps to justify the P63-million expense.”
The remainder of the P185-million funds for Water Remind, which is close to P50 million, will soon be turned over to MCWD, Fr. Engelen said.
Although WRC got P63 million for the implementation of the first phase of the project, the funds left for Water Remind is only less than P50 million.
Some P70 million was used to pay the Dutch consultants and other incidental expenses, Engelen said.
Last Thursday, Osmeña said the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands withdrew its financial assistance “because it was not happy with the output of WRC.”
The mayor has repeatedly accused WRC of exaggerating the water shortage in Cebu to get funding from foreign agencies so they can make money.
In a separate interview, MCWD board Chairman Juan Saul Montecillo said they are now operating a knowledge center at their building, which holds various data related to water.
MCWD will also get the funding intended for the next three months of the project implementation WRC was to handle, including the training of personnel who will run the center.
Montecillo said, though, that he is not sure if the amount will reach P50 million, as stated by Engelen.
Regardless of the amount and the scope of the project they will assume, MCWD will work with the private sector and the LGUS “and approach the problem on water in a business-like manner,” Montecillo said.
“For our part, we will continue to update the data so that we get funding proposals for projects from the private sector, we will know if its feasible. We will invite the business sector to fund projects in the action plan,” he added.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 19, 2006 issue)
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