Consumers Domain
The ABE Housing Scam
"Staring at the loss...
Looking for a cause...
And never really sure..."
--from "Shadow on the Sun" by AudioSlave
Indeed, we cannot blame others when they say that our country is going to the dogs. It is only in the Philippines where our politicians and government agencies still debate whether or not we pay a contractor who utilized sub-standard materials in the construction of a project.
The transaction is simple -- a contractor promised to build a housing project intended for a program for government employees and the government will pay the builder for its services. The issue is plain to see -- the transaction was tainted with anomaly and the contractor utilized sub-standard materials.
I do not know which part is hard to understand. With all the legal gobbledygook and the complexity of the web of corruption surrounding the project, the issue still boils down to one simple fact -- that the contractor failed to deliver the product it promised, that the builder deceived the government, in fact us, the people! Yes the people, who by the way, in case they forget are the ones shouldering the cost of the project though their taxes!
When this anomaly was exposed years ago, I thought the proper questions would be: who were involved in this fraudulent transaction; how can we punish the contractor and those involved; how can the government be remunerated; and what can be done to ensure that such transaction will not occur again.
But no, years after the revelation of this scam, the question still being asked is -- Do we have to pay ABE Builders, the contractor, for the remaining balance?! Now, I am starting to wonder if the word CON-tractor was purposely created to start with "con". Hmm, what do you think?
Now, years after the discovery of the scam, it seems that those politicians who earned a fortune from it will remain free and unpunished. But well we say, what's new? This has become a normal event and in fact this case is only loose change compared to other big time scams at the national level. This is exactly why many are losing hope to the future of this nation. This country is going to the dogs? Well, sort of.
One more thing -- I really bow to the audacity of ABE Builders to demand the full payment from the City for its services in the construction of the Pavia Scam Project. You defraud the government with your substandard materials, now you have the gall to asked for a full payment?
You have such thick faces! If only those faces will be turned into galvanized roofing and other construction materials, then the housing units you constructed could have been stronger.
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