THE unfinished P200 million building project at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) will be up for rebidding as soon as the dispute between the state university and the concerned contractor is resolved, a university official said on Monday, March 5.
Clint Pacana, secretary of the USTP Board of Regents (BOR), said rebidding is a natural course for every terminated contract or project.
However, the 8-storey Student Center and Education Complex could not be touched unless all concerned agencies such the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) finish their inspection and assessment on the disputed issues.
"Naa pa man gud himoong inspections and assessment sa COA and CIAC like as to the verification kung pila ang actual accomplishment so we cannot touch the site right now (The COA and the CIAC will do some inspections regarding the actual accomplishment so we cannot touch the site right now), "Pacana said.
The contractor, Wing-An Construction and Development Corporation, has stood pat on their claim that they have finished about 60 percent, a claim disputed by the university. USTP officials insist that the work done is only about half of the contractor’s claim based on the experts' evaluation.
Pacana maintained that stringent evaluation have been made by the USTP's Project Management Advisory Committee (PMAC) before Wing-An's contract was stopped in January, last year.
He explained that terminated contracts and rebidding the project again has to pass through process so the government would have the basis on how to continue the project and how much budget is needed.
"As a matter of policy if there is a termination of contract we submit report to COA and COA will decide for the verification so by the time that there is re-implementation of the project dunay basihan ang gobyerno what is not completed where to start and how much is the budget," Pacana said.
He said opening the terminated building construction for rebidding was discussed during the previous BOR meetings.
"Nahisgutan siya sa previous meetings ang pag-rebid kay naa baya kakulangon sa mga classrooms unya ang projected completion ana is first quarter sa 2017. So imagine the adverse effect kung dili siya mapadayon nga gamit kaayo para sa mga estudyante (The BOR discussed the re-bidding during their previous meetings because there is also a lack of classrooms. The project completion is supposed to be first quarter of 2017 so imagine the adverse effect if it remains unfinished)," Pacana said.
"I don't think there is an opportunity for Wing-An to continue the project kay neglect naman sa ilang part niabot na gani sa termination (neglect is obvious on their part as the project was even terminated)," he added.
Pacana said he could not disclose what transpired during the BOR meeting last month because he was already relieved of documentation duties.
While he still sits as the BOR secretary, he was also designated and ordered to focus as the Presidential Assistant on Mindanao Affairs.
"PAMA is given premium attention as the USTP aggressively shifts to a new paradigm. Last nako nga attend sa BOR meeting is December last year. And last month nga meeting, somebody for a special order took over (last attended a BOR meeting last December. And during last month’s meeting, somebody already took over)," he said.