GOV. Hilario Davide III assured their supporters that even though Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale ruled that he lacked votes for a Provincial Board (PB) approval of the proposed P1.3-billion Provincial Resource Center, their political relationship remained strong.
Magpale is running in the gubernatorial race with Davide as her running mate in the May 13 elections.
In an interview last Friday, Jan. 25, Davide said he and Magpale had agreed that she would rule pursuant to the PB’s house rules.
“She also recognized the prerogative of the executive, and I also recognize that under the rules, the presiding officer (Magpale) has to rule on it,” Davide said.
The governor later withdrew his request for authority from the PB to enter into a contract with the winning bidder to build the proposed 20-story facility.
Citing a 2008 Supreme Court en banc decision, Davide said seeking authority from the PB to enter into a contract with WT Construction Inc. was no longer necessary since the project was “already identified and specified with sufficient detail” under an approved appropriation ordinance in June 2018.
Contract signing
Pursuant to Quisumbing vs. Garcia (G.R. No. 175527), the prior authorization may be in the form of an appropriation ordinance passed for the year, which specifically covered the project, cost or contract to be entered into by the local government unit.
Earlier, Magpale said their house rules provided that the PB would gain ownership of a proposed measure once it was presented to the body.
She added that while she recognized the prerogative of the executive department, her ruling was that the measure did not pass for failing to achieve the required number of votes.
Davide said he was expected to sign the contract with the winning bidder this week.
“I don’t think naay makababag ana (anyone can block that), unless ang kaning atong mga kaatbang magkiha-kiha na pud ngadto sa korte ba or unsa (the opposition files a case in court or whatever). Kahibaw naman ko nga ang ilang (I know that their) objective is to stop this project,” he added.
Davide reiterated that the project was expected to break ground in February or before the election ban on public works on March 29.