Thursday, April 12, 2007 New DPWH chief finds job tough amid lamps scandal
OF THE nine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 officials preventively suspended by the anti-graft office, only five have so far been replaced, with engineer Jerome dela Rosa leading the new faces.
Dela Rosa was designated as acting regional director, in place of Regional Director Robert Lala.
Dela Rosa said supervising the operation of DPWH 7 is challenging and causing him worries because the controversy that led to the suspension of his colleagues has made the public watchful of their every action.
“I’m worried baka mapukol ako, because everybody is watching us,” he told reporters in an interview at his office. Dela Rosa arrived past 4 p.m. yesterday, after meeting with DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas found reason to believe that the purchase of 2,310 lamps and streetlights for the Asean summit last January was highly overpriced.
Last March 29, Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez ordered the suspension of 19 public officials, including Mayors Thadeo Ouano of Mandaue City and Arturo Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City, who were allegedly involved in the purchase whose contract price reached P365.87 million.
The lamps and streetlights, whose price ranged between P83,000 and P350,000, were installed in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
At the DPWH 7, those placed under preventive suspension for six months are Lala; Assistant Regional Directors Gloria Dindin and Marlina Alvizo; Pureza Fernandez, OIC chief of the maintenance division; Cresencio Bagolor, OIC assistant chief of the maintenance division; Regional Legal Officer Agustinito Hermoso; Planning and Design Division chief Luis Galang; Administrative Division Chief Restituto Diano; and Construction Division Dhief Buenaventura Pajo.
Bonoan signed special orders for the temporary assignments of dela Rosa, who was the assistant regional director in the National Capital Region, and four others last Tuesday.
He said he already secured an exemption from the Commission on Elections to implement the suspension and to replace the nine officials.
Region 12 Assistant Regional Director Jorge U. Sebastian Jr. takes the place of Alvizo.
Other officials transferred to replace their suspended colleagues in Region 7 were Engineer IV Santiago Suico for Fernandez; engineer Adriano Doroy for Galang; engineer Gamaliel Joshua Abiera for Pajo.
Abiera was earlier reported to be replacing Lala.
They have yet to report to office. To avoid clogging up administrative work, dela Rosa temporarily designated people to sign transactions on their behalf.
Assistant Legal Officer for Region 7 Ayaon Manggis reportedly replaced Hermoso, while Assistant Chief of the Administrative Division Eliza Sigamata took over Diano’s post. The DPWH information office only had copies of the five new officials’ designations, though.
“We will no longer conduct a separate investigation into the matter as there are already two bodies involved in the investigation—the Office of the Ombudsman and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission,” Bonoan said.
“Both bodies found that there is prima facie evidence to warrant further investigation, so I have issued the order for the suspension order’s implementation. However, as far as the department is involved, everything is aboveboard,” he added.
Dela Rosa said his assignment to Region 7 came as a surprise because he was awaiting assignment as OIC director in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
“This special order detailing me as regional director superseded the setup already planned by the bureau,” he said.
It is his first assignment in Central Visayas in 31 years of service. (AIV/(Sunnex)
