Mabilog wants COA to reevaluate stalled housing project
The Sangguniang Panglungsod committee on engineering, construction and public works chaired by City Councilor Jed Patrick Mabilog wants the Commission on Audit (COA) to reevaluate the expenses incurred in the implementation of the stalled Iloilo City Employees Socialized Housing Project in Pavia, Iloilo.
Mabilog's committee was tasked to determine the propriety of the COA's earlier recommendation that the city pay Ace Builders and Enterprises (ABE), contractor of the anomalous project, some P14 million as remaining balance based on its Technical Evaluation Report.
The endorsement to the City Council was made by City Legal Office chief Atty. Edgar Gil.
Series of committee hearings were conducted before Mabilog came out with its recommendation during last Wednesday's regular session.
Mabilog said the inclusion of the P12,483,142.91 and P2,083,205.50 representing the cost of additional works as contained in the COA's evaluation is not supported by any written agreement between the city and ABE. There was no written approval also from the appropriate official, he added.
Mabilog said the same COA report in itself is also questionable. "The COA report is found to be not in order."
There should be a review of the Contract of Agreement between the city and ABE, Mabilog added.
It can be recalled, however, that Mayor Jerry Treñas urged COA to evaluate the project in order to determine the liability of the city government with the contractor if there is any.
COA actually submitted its evaluation report last year yet but was only acted upon by Treñas last month.
Mabilog also recommended that the city government through Mayor Treñas "find an immediate permanent solution relative to the multi-million housing project which turned into a white elephant."
Further, Mabilog recommended that the City Engineers Office (CEO) to conduct an inventory report on the current state and condition of the housing project.
But Councilors Perla Zulueta and Erwin Plagata suggested that an independent body should conduct the inventory and not the present officials of CEO, City Engineer Marito Amatorio and Engr. Gil Maternal, were previously tasked to oversee the implementation of the project.
It was subcontractor Rudy Gonzales who spilled the beans on the use of the substandard materials by ABE after the latter failed to pay for his contracted works sometime in 2002.