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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Frame-up, cries contractor on 'kickbacks'
CEBU CITY -- Nelson Yu, the contractor whom Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza allegedly asked for a P15-million cut from construction projects, believes he is a victim of frame-up.
In a mobile phone interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Yu denied that Radaza asked for three percent of the P500-million contract price for four government projects in the city.
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"Di na tinu-od. The charges are fabricated. Mura ko'g gi-frame-up because we have a pending case," Yu said.
Osvel Co. Inc. has filed a case against Young Builders, the firm that Yu's family owns, for alleged overpayment.
The firm used to own the Club Ultima building on Osmeña Blvd. in the mid-1990s, until brothers Richard and Rafael King took over. The Kings signed a memorandum of agreement to continue the project and promised to pay all the contractors.
The Club Ultima building is Young Builders' first project with the Kings.
Since 2000, however, the Kings allegedly still have payables amounting to P32 million.
Last year, Yu started collecting payments from the Kings.
Yu believes the video footage showing him in a meeting with the Kings could be one of those instances that he went to see the brothers to collect money from them.
The mayor's allies also said that the burden of proof lies in Radaza's detractors, who presented the video to the media last Saturday.
The footage was taken inside the Kings' conference room in Mabolo, Cebu wherein Yu and the brothers discussed their Davao hotel project.
Radaza did not attend the press conference Monday but City Administrator Teodulo Ybañez, City Attorney Vincent Joseph Lim and City Hall consultant Richard Sison called reporters to answer the allegations against the mayor.
"They have to prove that they have no ill motives," said Lim.
Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano said the accusations against Radaza give local chief executives a bad name.
Ouano said that when he read the news about Radaza, he recalled the allegations that he (Ouano) was behind the operations of the shabu laboratory in 2004.
For Ouano, it was good that he was able to clear his name before a congressional inquiry.
Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez has a simple way to eliminate kickbacks in government projects: Reject any cash offers.
As a chief executive, Fernandez admitted that he encountered "cash offerings" known as SOP from private contractors, ranging from 15 to 20 percent to a maximum of 30 percent.
But for Ombudsman Director Virginia-Palanca Santiago, the only SOP in government projects is that projects should be done well, finished on time and followed the contract price, up to the last centavo.
Any other form of SOP or standard operating procedure is graft and corrupt practices, Santiago said.
"What SOP are they talking about? The contractor will still get that amount from the cost of the project. They will never shortchange themselves. They will shortchange the taxpayer. The concrete on the road won't be as thick as it is should be, and your bridge isn't as durable as it should be," she added.
Any official demanding for SOP is liable for direct bribery while any contractor willing to give one is liable for corrupting a public official.
Under Presidential Decree 749, though, contractors who assist in the investigation by testifying are given immunity.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia called on businessmen and anybody who knows about SOPs in government projects to make use of the Capitol's committee on investigation.
"It takes two to tango. This demand on contractors will continue if the contractors will allow it to continue," she said.
Garcia pointed out that she has created the committee on investigation but until now they have not received any complaint.
The governor admitted that there have been "overtures" in the past so she has made it a rule never to entertain any contractor or supplier in her office unless during a meeting with all contractors and suppliers, and in the presence of department heads.
After tearing down the Kings' beachfront in Barangay Agus, the brothers' Crown Regency Hotel's sports complex in Barangay Gun-ob will follow.
City Hall officials said the court decided in the local government's favor on the expropriation proceedings case it filed.
The Kings, who own a chain of hotels and motels, invited Benjamin Ebrada, former owner of the beachfront property, to a press conference Monday.
Ebrada presented to reporters the business permit, signed by Radaza, a building permit, fencing permit for the riprap project, electrical permit, sanitary permit and zoning clearance to disprove the City Government's earlier claim that the property does not have the required documents.
When asked about Yu, the Kings admitted that they have a case against the contractor in court.
The Kings will also file a P50-million civil case against Radaza and City Hall officials for the demolition of their beachfront property. They will also file this week criminal and administrative case against the mayor at the anti-graft office.
For their part, City Hall consultant Sison said they have a year to decide whether they will file case against the Kings for the accusations they made.
Yu admitted that he has seen the footage even before it was presented to the media last Saturday.
"It was given to me long before (it was publicized). Binuang man na iyang style. They fabricated allegations to back up their case against me," Yu told Sun.Star Cebu.
Yu said he will discuss with his lawyer what action to take against the Kings.
"Sakit kaayo iyang gibuhat. Mura man kog gi-blackmail ana (It seems they blackmailed me)," Yu said. (RCT/With KNR/GC/JPM/AAG of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (February 13, 2007 issue)
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