Thursday, October 18, 2007 Ledesma: Spare Davao from the cascading scams By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
WHAT IS this I heard that the Department of Public Works and Highways will enter into a negotiated contract for the construction of the collapsed bridge in Bankerohan?
This is another attempt to hoodwink the taxpayers. To justify the negotiated contract they are telling us that the construction is akin to an emergency! What emergency are they talking about?
Eight idle months had elapsed for the National Government to come up with a plan and program of work and whatever and they now come back to us and say that they will negotiate with a contractor because it's an emergency undertaking. God have pity on us. Since when did DPWH indulge in negotiated contract for a construction of a bridge that had been in the planning for eight months?
I am challenging Mayor Duterte to unmask the architect behind the scheme of undertaking the Bankerohan bridge construction through negotiation. We should shield our city from the engulfing tentacles of corruption that is choking Malacañang and Congress.
Negotiation means giving the contract to a favored contractor. I heard that name before from an interview with a congressman. I thought that it was a joke and never gave it importance. But hearing the news from ABS-CBN Wednesday morning gave me the creeps that these insatiable bastards will not stop at anything, even going to the extent of inventing the "emergency" slant, to negotiate the deal with a favored contractor? Yes, even to the extent of changing the meaning of emergency in the dictionary.
Indeed, what's wrong with bidding the project to interested parties? That should be the legitimate way? They are telling us that it will cost more if it will be bid out. That's a lot of crap. If he or she who is favored by the pacmen from Malacañang and DPWH Manila is really out to undertake the construction with the least cost to the government then let him or her submit a bid. What's wrong with that?
Corruption has become a plague. Let's insulate our city from the virus that is consuming the national leadership.
FEEDBACK:
From: "Encabo, Alain Tanan (Alain) To: scledesmajr@yahoo.com
Sir Jun,
Good day!
In response to your column entitled "Forget Malacanang, let's build that bridge!"
Remember last May election? Ilan ba ang napasama sa top 12 sa Davao City?
Humingi po ng suporta si PGMA nung last election pero hindi po nakinig ang mga taga-Davao. Ngayon po, tayo ang humihingi ng suporta kay PGMA. Do you think po na pakikinggan nya tayo? I am from Davao sir pero sa tingin ko po we deserved this kind of treatment from PGMA. X begets X po. Bakit po walang tulong tayong naririnig galing sa oposisyon na kasali sa Top 12 ng Davao. Hindi ba sila pwede mag-donate kahit tag P5 million of their P200 million pork barrel allotment? Magkano na yun sya? Nasaan na ang number 1 na si Loren Legarda? Ang number 2 na si Chiz Escudero?
I am still an avid supporter of PGMA despite po sa nangyayari ngayon sa Davao. Kaya po I agree sa ideya nyo na tayo na lang mismo ang gumawa ng paraan at huwag na tayong umasa sa iba. Naka-loan nga yung past Davao administration sa isang Coliseum na hindi pa natapos at hindi man lang nagamit. Ano pa kaya itong isang project na kailangan po Davao.
Mabuhay po kayo! Best regards, Alain T. Encabo, Alcatel - Lucent Administrator, Supply Chain Network, CERT Technology Park P.O. Box 44770 Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Email: encabo@alcatel-lucent.com Tel # + 971 2 6961776Mobile # + 971 50 2478914
Fax # + 971 2 6746886
From Nonoy Jadulang: "On the 4get mlcnang-lets bild dat bridge. How do we help?"
From: "Kristina Tamayo-Samuel" Subject: Forget Malacanang, let's build that bridge!
To: scledesmajr@yahoo.com
Your article truly touched the nationalistic and heroic nerve in me. This kind of stories makes me feel proud of my Filipino heritage. Not just out of disgust over our state of affairs in the management of the Gov. Generoso Bridge I construction, I agree that we Dabaweños should build the bridge ourselves NOW and show the world how bayanihan can solve divisions. You may also enjoin the engineers of DPWH Region 11 whose hands had long been tied up with bureaucratic processes and Manila imperialism to this plan. They have suffered the embarrassment long enough due to the insensitivities of Manila authorities. I tell you, you cannot change an imperialistic mind over night, to make them realize that we too are Filipinos who need a bridge (as bad as they do when they cross SLEX and NLEX) in this part of the country. What we are experiencing now is the "probinsyano" treatment where central offices automatically put on when people from the regions come for help.
We have brighter minds here. We can do it. With that we can forget our woes and anxieties about the delays of the project. Let's move on and leave behind the negative energies with the Manila people. To hell with their imperialism. May they die with it.
I am moved by the outpouring of our readers here and abroad. I received a deluge of calls supporting the idea of undertaking the bridge project through the initiative of the Davaoweños. Yesterday, Mayor Duterte was quoted by Sun.Star Davao saying he might just go into borrowing money to have that bridge up. Better that than allowing the scam masters using our bridge as a tool of their enterprise. Enough with NBN, enough with CyberEd, enough with bribery.
