House begins probe of Capitol building
Two of Iloilo's top officials met anew for yet another round of congressional inquiry. Sharing more than their seats in public office, Wednesday's official meeting reunited Third District Congressman Arthur Defensor and Governor Niel Tupas for a House probe on alleged anomalies in the new Capitol.
Now standing to be the most expensive, tallest and grandest government building in Iloilo and the region, construction of the multi-million seat of Provincial Government began in Defensor's last days in office as Iloilo Governor and went full blast during the stint of Tupas.
The former Governor turned key prober faced off with the current Governor alongside other key Capitol officials for day one of the House probe conducted by the Defensor-chaired Committee on Good Government.
Initial hearing established the parameters set for the investigation as resource persons and witnesses to be summoned were identified. Defensor in a radio interview said succeeding hearings may be set here in Iloilo even as Tupas maintained and strongly insisted on his innocence in charges of fraud, graft and corruption in the building construction.
On top of the anomalies, irregularities and illegalities raised in the said inquiry, House insiders said related works and Capitol projects will also be investigated.
Among those set to be discussed are the findings and reports of government auditors that moved to disallow at least P4 million in construction expense. Under Tupas implementation phase, high-priced furniture and fixtures were made public including hundreds of thousands in worth of robe hooks, soap holders, urinal partition and doors.
The Governor has since washed off his hands saying the purchases were made by the contractors and there are project consultants who were tasked to oversee the project.
Members of the People's Graftwatch are expected to be the principal witnesses as voluminous documents are being readied for the Committee to work on.