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Monday, April 02, 2007
Lamps supplier asks Ombudsman: Probe complainant
CEBU CITY -- A contractor of the multi-million-peso lampposts deal has turned the tables on Crisologo Saavedra, whose complaint provoked an anti-graft investigation on the allegedly overpriced purchase.
Engineer Dante Valencia, general manager of Gampik, asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the Pelican Bay Group and Saavedra, its project manager, for its alleged failure to deliver 40 security cameras amounting to P79.9 million.
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Saavedra, however, said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “illegally” rescinded his contract last November 29, because he did not give in to DPWH officials’ demand for a 15 percent kickback.
“They are trying to justify the overpriced lampposts. My God! This is adding insult to injury to the intelligence of the Cebuanos,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said those behind the alleged scam in the P365-million lamppost deal will be prosecuted regardless of their political connections.
The Palace issued the statement following the reelectionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s comment that many people in the Arroyo administration benefited from the deal, although only 19 local officials have been preventively suspended for it.
Not Palace
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said there would be no sacred cows in the ombudsman’s investigation, but stressed that no Palace official is involved.
He said that the ombudsman will implement the suspension orders Monday or Tuesday, through the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The Office of the Ombudsman has issued six-month preventive suspension orders against Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza and 17 other officials, including nine from the Central Visayas DPWH office, while they face an investigation.
At a campaign rally Sunday night, Mayor Ouano told supporters he will ask his sons Thadeo Jovito and Alfred to withdraw their candidacies, if graft investigators prove he made money off the lamppost deals.
Thadeo Jovito is running for mayor of Mandaue City, while Alfred is seeking reelection as a councilor of the adjacent Consolacion town.
Ouano has yet to receive his preventive suspension order. He described the controversy as his “cross to bear” even as he wraps up his ninth year as mayor.
Officials of both Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue have pointed out they only signed the program of works and estimates, as told by DPWH. They also stressed no local funds were spent for the purchase, made as part of preparations for last January’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
'Not delivered’
Apart from the lampposts, the preparations funded by the National Government included road repairs, a new lounge at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the surveillance of traffic surveillance cameras.
The Provincial Government, using local funds, built the Cebu International Convention Center.
It’s the camera purchase that, according to Gampik’s Valencia, anti-graft investigators should pay attention to.
“The non-delivery of cameras endangered the safety and security of the more than 3,000 Asean summit delegates. It could have been another black eye for the Philippines if any assassination attempts, terrorist attacks and similar violent incidents took place," Valencia said.
“Instead of being treated as a whistleblower, Saavedra should be the one to be put on trial. The Office of the Ombudsman should immediately conduct an impartial, transparent, fair, just and neutral investigation on Saavedra’s baseless accusations and lies to hide his involvement in the multimillion-peso plunder," Valencia said.
Pelican, Wireless Technology Network and Triton Communications Corporation joined the pre-qualification bidding for the surveillance cameras last year.
Unpaid
“During the evaluation of the bidders in the pre-qualification bidding, Wireless and Triton were declared non-compliant while Pelican was declared non-eligible for the contract due to its lack of a track record. After having been declared as non-eligible, Pelican filed a motion for reconsideration that was questionably accepted by the DPWH," Valencia said.
He pointed out that under the contract awarded to Pelican, Saavedra’s company will be given 30 percent down payment for the P79.9-million contract. Full payment was scheduled after installation and the deadline for them to complete the project was set on November 26 last year.
“But the deadline was not complied with by Pelican. So, the contract was terminated for Pelican’s failure to deliver on time. Then, the DPWH reopened the bid proposal of Triton, which performed, delivered and installed (the cameras) in 10 days,” he said.
Saavedra, however, said he has not received a single centavo as down payment because the condition in the contract was full delivery of the materials and the system.
When he still had the contract, he delivered 40 security cameras as stated in the purchase order, but the monitoring committee to receive them was not yet organized.
“There was a delivery. I faithfully adhered to what were stipulated in the contract. It was DPWH’s fault. I refused to give in to their demand for a kickback,” Saavedra said in a mobile phone interview.
DPWH officials have previously denied making any such demands for a kickback. (JMR/Sunnex/With AIV)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (April 2, 2007 issue)
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