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Monday, September 29, 2003
Artica subcontractors confess dome unsafe
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO -- Three persons involved in the construction of the controversial Artica Sports Dome in Ma-a in Davao City admitted Sunday that the P150-million structure is not safe.
Artica subcontractor Leopoldo Cante, construction foreman Siplicio de Castro and steel work in charge Elorde Morales revealed that some steel columns of the dome were bent to make these conform with the specifications in the original plan following what they claimed was an error by the Archipelago Builders Construction (ABC), the project's main contractor.
Cante said in the television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" Sunday that he knows about the problem because he subcontracted the work on the reinforcement bars of the dome.
He added his men were tasked to place the steel bars serving as the framework and support of the dome.
In the course of their work, contractor ABC discovered that the steel columns they laid were not in accordance with the original plan, claimed Cante.
As subcontractors, he explained they just follow orders from technical experts of the dome's main contractors on where to place the steel columns.
Hence, he pointed out, the wrong placement of the columns was not their fault.
De Castro said as the foreman for the reinforcement steel bars, he was requested by ABC engineers to remedy the mistake by "offsetting" the steel bars to the desired alignment.
Offsetting the steel bars entailed bending the 28 mm reinforcement bars from their original vertical position to "align" with the original plan. This created a "double curvature" on the steel columns.
According to Elorde Morales, he was also "ordered" to take off the "ties" that bound the steel bars so that these could be bended. He said he personally saw how a backhoe pulled the steel bars and bended it to the desired alignment.
Engineer Jose Gestuveo Jr., acting president of the PICE Davao Chapter, said it was not good to bend steel bars that way since it would cause the structure to "sink in".
"Bending is a violation of the discipline of engineers because of this it makes the Artica dome unsafe," Gestuveo said.
Asked if he would recommend the continuation of the construction of the dome despite the alleged anomaly, Gestuveo said he would have the information of the subcontractors checked and decide on what to do based on the findings.
Based on the explanation of the engineer during the program, it was learned that the bending of steel bars was done a few meters below the surface level so the irregularity would not be discovered unless there is an effort to dug this up.
As a result of the revelation, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte created Task Force Artica to investigate the alleged irregularities in the construction of the sports dome.
Duterte said he assigned City Administrator Melchor Quitain to head the task force with City Engineer Meinrado Metran as vice chair.
The mayor said he is also allotting a seat for former mayor Benjamin de Guzman or any of his representatives to the task force. This is so he will not be accused of whitewashing the investigation, Duterte explained.
Seats for technical experts, non-government organizations and even the Integrated Bar of the Philippines were also allotted.
Duterte said he is ordering Task Force Artica to do whatever it takes to ascertain the truth about the reported anomaly and submit its findings in 60 days.
"Kubkuba ninyo, tan-awa ninyo ug tarong tapos report mo sa katawhan," Duterte said. (Dig it up, study it thoroughly and report to the people.)
The mayor said he would base his decision on whether to go on with the dome on the findings of the task force.
Duterte said he himself wanted the Artica dome finished since a lot of the people's money had already been spent on the project.
"Listen very carefully then evaluate. Tapos sultihi ko ug unsa ang inyong desisyon tutal suluguon lang man ko ninyo," Duterte told the Dabawenyos. (Then tell me what your decision is since I'm just your servant.)
The government will allegedly have to spend an additional P50 to P70 million to rectify the "anomaly" in the structure of the Artica dome. Sun.Star Cebu
(September 29, 2003 issue)
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