AS THE City Council continues its inquiry about the construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), another contractor was revealed to have worked on the hospital’s fit-out lobby.
Councilors also discovered that several contracts during the administration of the late mayor Edgardo Labella were signed, not by him, but by former city administrator Floro Casas Jr.
Casas told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, that he has a memorandum from the late mayor authorizing him to sign all documents related to the procurement.
“The memo was even approved by the Cebu City Council through a resolution,” he added.
Councilor Nestor Archival, in an interview after the executive session on Monday, Dec. 2, said there was a summary in the previous executive sessions of the four contractors involved in the construction.
He said during the executive session that, as reported, C. Padilla Construction was awarded to construct CCMC’s Phases 1 and 2, C.B. Garay Philwide Builders for Phase 3, M.E. Sicat Construction Inc. for Phase 4, and just on Monday, a new name, Mcdhennizce Builders, who worked on the fit-out lobby of CCMC, surfaced.
According to the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board, Mcdhennizce Builders is a sole proprietor that started in 2018 and would do general engineering.
Archival said the Mcdhennizce Builders was not mentioned in the previous reports submitted by the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW).
“The report made last time — I think that was three weeks ago — only had four contractors. But now, it has come out that there is another contractor reported by the city treasurer,” said Archival.
City Treasurer Mare Vae Reyes, during the executive session, reported that the City has paid Mcdhennizce Builders an amount of P4,577,087 for its contract.
Archival said the reports given to the council are not always complete and are submitted just for the sake of compliance.
He said that he has been asking the DEPW for the complete plans of CCMC, but until now, the department has not completely furnished copies to the council.
Signed contracts
When Archival scanned through the contracts provided by DEPW, he found out that the certificate of completion was signed by Casas and not Labella.
He said that when it comes to contracts, the one who should sign on behalf of the City should be the mayor himself.
Lowell Corminal of DEPW explained that when his department submitted the contract to the Office of the Mayor in 2019, it would be the latter’s discretion on who would sign the document.
Charisse Piramide, secretary of the Sangguniang Panglungsod, presented Resolution No15-1289-2019, which delegated and granted authority to Casas to sign checks, debit memos and other related documents connected to the City’s bank account with the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Archival stressed that the mayor authorized Casas only for the City to settle the accounts. However, the latter had signed contracts pertaining to CCMC.
He added that what is meant by “and other pertinent documents in relation to the City’s bank account” would only refer to Casas being able to sign on behalf of Labella when it comes to the City’s financial obligations.
Carlo Vincent Gimena of the City Legal Office reiterated that when it comes to contracts, it should be the mayor who should sign on behalf of the City.
However, if the Office of the Mayor could present an authorization from the council that would authorize the city administrator, the documents signed by the latter would “enjoy the presumption of validity and legality.”
Gimena said the question is whether the Council issued a resolution authorizing the former city administrator to sign contracts.
Archival said that, based on the documents they gathered, no such resolution exists.
The secretary said that they would have to get a copy of Labella’s order authorizing Casas to sign on his behalf.
Gimena said he requested copies of the documents gathered by the council to address questions regarding the authority.
When asked about the implications if documents validating Casas’ authority to sign contracts could not be found, Archival said it would render the contract invalid.
“Para sa ako, kung mao ra nang dokumento nga atong makita, invalid na siya. Atong gibayran atong mga contractors nga wala gani kontrata. In a way mao akong gitan-aw,” he said.
(For me, if that’s the only document we are seeing, it would be invalid. We paid the contractors when, in the first place, there was no contract. In a way, that’s how I see it.)
“But I’m not a lawyer, I am basing it on my personal opinion. I think it is not right,” he added.
The continuation of the executive session is set to resume on Jan. 22, 2025.