Iloilo - Corruption capital
of the Philippines?
BY
THE MANILA TIMES ON NOVEMBER
8, 2014
The
corruption in Iloilo City has reached the national consciousness with the
apparent anomalies in the construction of its controversial convention center.
Charged
with Plunder in the Office of the Ombudsman are the honorable Senate President
Franklin Drilon, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, DoT Secretary Ramon Jimenez,
among others.
The
complaint is on the alleged overpricing of the P700 Million Iloilo Convention
Center (ICC) that will host the forthcoming 2015 Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The
complainant is Manuel Mejorada, former provincial administrator of Iloilo and a
well-known crusading print and broadcast journalist in Iloilo, who has filed
his fourth case against Senator Drilon with the Ombudsman since last year.
The
project cost of the ICC started with only P300 Million in April 2013 and later
increased to P450 Million five months later in September.
DPWH
Secretary Singson explained to Ms. Karen Davila at ANC’s Headstart that DPWH
was able to get an additional P200 Million from the Department of Budget &
Management (DBM).
However,
Mr. Singson claims ignorance when asked about the source of funds.
Secretary
Singson said that when DPWH receives the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO)
from the Department of Budget & Management (DBM), it did not indicate the
source of funds.
This
hard to believe because the SARO is the”
document issued by the DBM that triggers the release of funds for lump-sum
items, such as the Priority Development Acceleration Fund (PDAF) or pork.” (Source: PCIJ)
From
P450 Million or P500 Million, the project cost went up again to P700 Million
because the DPWH was able to once again obtain an additional P200 Million from
the DBM.
This
explains why the ICC has two contracts: Phase I for P492 Million and Phase II
for P187.6 Million.
Hence,
it becomes obvious that the project cost of the ICC was really flexible
depending on the public funds that Senator Drilon could get like the P100
Million from the despicable DAP that was declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
It
did stop with P700 Million because Senate President Drilon, the native son of
Iloilo, described the ICC as a “P1.0 Billion project” last February during the
Dinagyan Festival in Iloilo City.
It
is rather curious why the project cost of the ICC kept on escalating when its
design has not changed! Speaking of the avowed policy of “Transparency &
Accountability” of the Aquino administration with its Daang Matuwid!
The
main issue on the P488 Million overprice of the controversial convention center
is on the total floor area. The computation in the complaint is that it would
only cost P192 Million to build the ICC based on the floor area of 6,400 square
meters (sqms) at the cost of P30,000.00 per sqm.
Thus,
Mr. Mejorada, the complainant, believes that the convention center is already
overpriced even at the original project cost of P300 Million.
Mr.
Mejorada further claims that Senator Drilon used the same figure of P30,000 per
sqm as “the industry standard” even for first class buildings like five-star
hotels.
DPWH
Secretary Singson confirmed the same “industry standard” costing in an
interview with Ms Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA 7 TV News a few days before the case
was filed.
Mr.
Singson also acknowledged that the SMX in the Mall of Asia cost only P26,000
per sqm.
The
DPWH Secretary explained that the costings in the private sector cannot be
compared to the government contracts and tacitly admitted that DWPH projects do
cost more.
He
said the same thing when interviewed by Ms. Karen Davila in ANC’s Headstart TV
program last Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2014.
Secretary
Singson now says that the cost is P60,000.00 to P65,000.00 per sqm or DOUBLE
the P30,000.00 per sqm “industry standard.”
It
now appears that Senator Drilon and Secretary Singson have been talking lately
on the plunder complaint filed against them with the Office of the Ombudsman.
They
are both citing the figure of 11,600 sqms as the total floor area of the ICC
and that the 6,400 sqms floor area used in the complaint against them is all
wrong.
However,
it seems that the communication between the DPWH and the Senate President is
not well-coordinated.
The
Facebook webpage of Hilmarc Construction Corporation, the contractor of the
controversial Iloilo Convention Center, states that the floor area of the ICC
is 6,400 sqms, as filed in the complaint, and NOT 11,600 sqms as Senate
President Drilon claimed when interviewed by media on the day the Plunder case
was filed against him.
DPWH
Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson likewise told Ms. Karen Davila at ANC’s TV
program that the floor area is indeed 11,600 sqms, which is inconsistent with
the 6,400 sqms stated in the webpage of their own DPWH contractor. There is a
Big Difference of 5,200 sqms between 11,600 sqms and 6,400 sqms.
DPWH
Secretary Singson justifies the increase in floor area by saying that the ICC
is “equivalent to seven floors” due to its ceiling height. His statement
exposes his IGNORANCE to building construction. You cannot enlarge the floor
area just because of the high ceiling height.
There
is no additional construction cost for what is occupied by air! Because there
are NO beams, flooring and partitions. At most the increased costs are in the
taller posts, columns and walls.
Senate
President Drilon also tried to justify the obscene overprice by saying the
convention center is equivalent to “five floors.”
The
estimate of Senator Drilon, a lawyer who admits that he is not a “technical”
person, seems more realistic to the claim of the DPWH secretary that the ICC is
“equivalent to seven floors.”
The
multi-billion public infrastructure projects in Iloilo province are known to be
obscenely overpriced from the P8.8 Billion Iloilo Airport to the P1.9 Billion
Iloilo Circumferential Road.
Then
there is also the P296 Million road-widening project (with wide sidewalks) of
the Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. Avenue that is only 1.2 kms in length and the P82
Million Esplanade promenade project along the Iloilo River.
All
these projects were initiated by and identified with Senate President Drilon.
Iloilo
City Congressman Jerry Treñas also has his P50 Million Dungon Bridge project
where the existing bridge in good working condition was shamelessly demolished.
Then
there is also the Iloilo City Hall that cost over P800 Million or more than
four times the Bacolod City Hall even if the population of the latter is more
than the former.
If
Iloilo is the “Corruption Capital of the Philippines” and its top elected
officials - from senator to congressman and mayor - belong to the ruling
Liberal Party, then what does it say about the avowed Daang Matuwid of
President Benigno Aquino 3rd?
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