Governor, PB sued over CICC's disrepair

CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III and the Provincial Board are facing criminal and administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for their “willful failure” to repair the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

Lawyer Ervin Estandarte filed the complaints, in which he accused the governor and the provincial legislators of violating Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Presidential Decree 807 (Civil Service Decree of the Philippines), and Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct of Public Officers and Employees).

“As the father of the Province, he (Davide) has the duty to take care of the properties (of the Province), including the CICC,” Estandarte told reporters.

He said in his complaint that he is a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan in Mandaue City, and that during his “regular Sunday jog” around the facility, he remembers “those happy times when CICC was alive and vibrant.”

Waiting

Both the October 2013 earthquake and typhoon Yolanda, which followed less than a month later, damaged parts of the CICC. It had been built in 2006, during then-Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s first term, while Cebu prepared to host meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Asked about the cases, Governor Davide and some of the PB members said they would rather wait for the case records from the Office of the Ombudsman before discussing the complaints in public.

PB Member Miguel Magpale said they need to review the case first. Members Grecilda Sanchez and Jude Thaddeus Sybico pointed out that since the CICC is still the subject of litigation, the Province was correct in not touching it, in the meantime.

“That goes with the job (as a public official),” Sybico said of the cases filed.

That sign

In his complaint-affidavit, Estandarte said that the pending graft and corruption case over the construction of the CICC is not a license for Capitol officials to “neglect and abandon this people’s property altogether.”

“Its metals corroded and (are) rusting away from exposure to the elements of sun and rain; the carpets, equipment, furniture and fixture rotting. There is a clear and present danger that we cannot anymore save whatever is left of the CICC,” he said.

He mentioned the display of the “NEVER AGAIN” banner along with the cost of building the CICC, right on the structure’s façade. “That signage, though, reminds us to be vigilant. It is equally hurting and the pain deepens every time we pass by, because we see a dying structure behind it and it is asking for help, and we do nothing or are helpless about it,” Estandarte wrote in his complaint.

Last August, Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino was quoted as saying that the Capitol needed about P160 million to repair and upgrade the CICC.

Deputy Ombudsman Paul Elmer Clemente approved Governor Davide’s request to rehabilitate the building into exhibition spaces for furniture and other products made in Cebu.

‘Bad faith’

This, after Davide wrote the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to request for authority to repair the CICC, despite the pending cases.

It was last July 31, 2012, when Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales approved the filing of charges against former governor Garcia and six other Capitol officials for allegedly violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in the CICC project.

Estandarte, in his complaint, wrote: “There is evident bad faith because the CICC has been decaying for years and yet it was only in July 2015 when he (Governor Davide) put his mind to the CICC by writing the Ombudsman for permission to initiate repairs.”

“Until the filing of this complaint, no sign of activity for repairs of the CICC has been initiated,” the complainant added.

The National Government, through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has expressed interest in rehabilitating the facility to set up a Center for Industry and Trade Expositions.

The Mandaue City Government, which owns the lot where the facility was built, and the Provincial Government have considered DTI’s offer.

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