MANILA—Former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia was charged before the Sandiganbayan yesterday with two counts of graft in connection with an allegedly overpriced socialized housing project back in 1997.
The Office of the Ombudsman said Garcia "willfully, unlawfully, and criminally entered into a manifestly and grossly disadvantageous contract of agreement" with Octa Builders Inc. for the construction of a condominium project—now known as Cebu City Condominium—while he was city mayor.
Garcia said he was not aware he has been charged. He said he will answer the charges in the proper forum.
He said he was surprised on hearing it.
“I don’t even know much about it (project),” he said, adding that his term ended in 2001 and he has not heard of the project since.
The former mayor is the first cousin of outgoing Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who was previously ordered suspended by the Office of the President for grave abuse of authority. Gwendolyn, an incoming member of the House of Representatives, is also facing plunder and technical malversation raps before the Sandiganbayan.
Contractor
According to the Commission on Audit (COA), the contract awarded to Octa Builders Inc. was overpriced as the amount was solely determined by the contractor. The contract price amounted to P26.64 million, which is 49.54 percent higher than the COA estimate of P17.81 million.
The contractor was also not qualified, the Office of the Ombudsman said, as it “lacked the requisite capital, experience and license to undertake the construction.”
The contract amount was also pegged without an approved agency estimate and without prior approval from the Cebu City Development Council.
Garcia also granted the condominium project through an outright purchase instead of through an amortization scheme under the Build-and-Transfer (BT) Agreement or through a Build-Operate-and-Transfer scheme (BOT).
This resulted in the payment of the Cebu City Government to Octa Builders Inc. of the contract price sourced from a loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines.
“(The) loan could have been avoided had the condominium project been acquired through self-liquidation under the amortized payment scheme of the BT or through the BOT scheme, which could have also spared the government of the responsibility of operating and maintaining the condominium,” the Ombudsman said.
Also charged with one count of graft charge were the members of the bids and awards committee: then city councilors Laurito Malinao, Rodolfo Cabrera and Rico Rey Holganza; city treasurer Eustaqio Cesa, and Pura Cimafranca, a private representative. (Sunnex)