Sunday, March 25, 2007 (Philippines)

A family left homeless by a fire earlier this month in Mandaue City ties its makeshift tent to a decorative park lamp that cost the government some P224,000 each. At least 89 of these lamps are in that city, whose mayor now blames the public works department for tampering with the project estimates.(Sun.star photo/Allan Cuizon) MANDAUE City Mayor Thadeo Ouano yesterday said that the program of works and estimates (POWE) the City Government submitted earlier to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) bore slight alterations. Although the same total was reflected, the other specifications were changed and, according to Ouano, the DPWH altered the figures City Hall submitted. With the changes, Ouano believes the POWE Mandaue sent to the DPWH wasn’t used. That means the City Government was not involved in the alleged overpricing of the P368.5-million lamps and streetlights bought for the Asean summit last January. Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 [full story]