Another pet project of Drilon under Ombudsman’s scrutiny
Drilon
faces plunder, graft and corruption complaint over Iloilo Esplanade projects
Posted on October 12, 2013
SENATE
President Franklin M. Drilon faces another plunder and graft and corruption
complaint, filed at the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 11 over the alleged
overpricing of the Esplanade projects in Iloilo City.
Former Iloilo Second District Representative Augusto
"Boboy" L. Syjuco Jr. filed his fourth complaint against Mr. Drilon
and said that the latter "must face up to his accountability to the public
and the people he has betrayed".
In the 32-page complaint filed at the Office of
Ombudsman Friday morning, Mr. Syjuco cited "flagrant" irregularities
and anomalies in the construction, improvement, and implementation of the
Iloilo Esplanade projects (Esplanade I and II), both funded and out of Mr.
Drilon’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
According to the complaint, the overpriced
construction of the Esplanades I and II and the "pseudo" construction
project classified as "improvement/completion" of Iloilo Esplanade I
resulted in undue gain on the part of Mr. Drilon as a kickback of P58 million
in total.
The complaint said that the Esplanade projects have
allocation of P123.5 million from the PDAF, "initiated" by the Senate
President himself.
The P70-million Esplanade I project entails the
construction of a retaining wall, four-meter-wide interlocking block pavement,
slope protection, landscaping and amenities.
The complaint said that the said improvements and
amenities go for P14,500 per square meter, more or less, which is
"dreadfully overpriced".
It further stated that, since the project is for
recreational activities, no concreting is involved; thus, the cost for the
1.2-kilometer footpath is by far inexpensive compared with a two-lane,
eight-inch-thick, first-class concrete road pegged at P14 million/km.
The statement read that another P13.5 million from
Mr. Drilon’s PDAF was released a few weeks after the inauguration of Esplanade
I on Aug. 18, 2012. The said amount was for the improvement and completion of
E. Trenas Boulevard along the Iloilo River, which, according to the statement
refers to the same Esplanade I.
Another project funded by Mr. Drilon’s PDAF, based on
the complaint, is the P40-million construction of Esplanade II.
"This project [covers] 750 meters, and its
design is less intricate as compared to the Iloilo Esplanade I; as such, the
P17, 000 per kilometer budget, more or less, is shockingly overpriced",
the complaint further said.
The Iloilo River Esplanade is a park development on
the riverbanks of Iloilo River, envisioned to be an eco-park and recreational
with viewing decks and trees.
Esplanade I covers the stretch of E. Trenas Boulevard
(Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue to Carpenter’s Bridge in Mandurriao district).
Esplanade II stretches from Medical City Hospital to
San Pedro Village in the Molo district. Esplanade III is to cover the stretch
from Quirino Lopez bridge to Parola Ferry Terminal.
The camp of Mr. Drilon, through Media Relations
Officer Jeeno Arellano, did not comment on the case and noted that they had not
yet read the complaint.
"We haven’t seen the complaint yet. We cannot formulate our comments
yet",
Mr. Arellano said in a text message to BusinessWorld.
– ICCD
No comments:
Post a Comment