BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – Ilonggo Senate president Franklin Drilon still enjoys the trust of President Benigno Aquino III despite the alleged overpricing in the ongoing construction of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center in Iloilo City.
“I believe so. Yes,” said Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communication Operations Office when asked about the matter.
Kabataan party-list’s Rep. Terry Ridon and Iloilo City’s Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed separate resolutions calling for an investigation into the dealings of Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. with the government.
The Iloilo Convention Center is one of Hilmarc’s construction projects.
Coloma said they “respect” the proposed probe as Congress is an “independent and co-equal branch of the government.”
Yesterday, Ridon said Aquino’s “quick defense” of Drilon is “highly suspicious.”
Drilon allocated P100 million of his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for the construction of the close to P1-billion worth edifice, according to Ridon.
The distribution of the government’s DAP funds to various projects and legislators needed approval from Aquino, he pointed out.
“Has the President personally benefitted from this possibly overpriced project? In my view, that’s not far from happening,” said the party-list representative.
Ridon questioned Drilon’s Iloilo project, saying its bidding process could have been rigged to favor one contractor.
“The investigation we are seeking may possibly uncover the contract-rigging mafia inside the government. The crusade for accountability must not stop,” he said.
Drilon had said he did not influence the bidding process.
“I had nothing to do with the bidding,” said Drilon.
He said he only endorsed to the Public Works department the fund for the convention hub.
But the Ilonggo legislator said he is open to an investigation.
If Ridon were to be believed, Hilmarc’s bagged the Iloilo Convention Center project through negotiated bidding in December 2013 after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) declared a failure of bidding.
DPWH announced a failure of competitive bidding and subsequent re-bidding of the project’s Phase 1 on July 13, 2013, said Ridon.
The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of the convention center was P482.5 million.
Only WT Construction, Inc. and R.D. Policarpio & Co., Inc. were able to submit bids. However, R.D. Policarpio & Co., Inc. did not meet the minimum equipment requirement while WT Construction, Inc. tendered a bid of P495,567,461.79 – higher than the ABC.
“It is disturbing to note that in the competitive bidding, Hilmarc’s did not even participate. But through negotiated procurement, it was able to clinch the project,” claimed Ridon.
Ridon said the cost of the Iloilo Convention Center “is beyond every Ilonggo’s wildest dreams.”
The party-list representative compaired the structure to China’s National Convention Center and the Beijing National Stadium or the Bird’s Nest that hosted the 2008 Olympics.
The construction cost of China’s convention center, Ridon said, was only P6,545 per square meter.
On the other hand, the per square meter cost of the Iloilo Convention Center is P30,149, claimed Ridon.
On Monday, former Iloilo congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. filed a plunder case against Drilon before the Ombudsman for the alleged overpricing.
Syjuco claimed the convention center was overpriced by more than P600 million./PN
