Capiz dads declare engineer ‘persona non grata’
ROXAS CITY – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) in its regular session last week approved a resolution declaring 2nd District Engr. Nilo Gavia as “persona non grata” for his continued defiance of the SP's invitation for him to attend the session.
Board Member Ricky Martin said that the SP invited Engr. Gavia several times but the latter merely ignored their invitation which according to him is an insult to the august body.
Months ago, Gavia promised the SP that he will furnish them a copy of program of works of all projects of the 2nd district and will lead the board members to conduct “quality test” on the alleged substandard road projects in Capiz to disprove the allegation of Mr. Gene Divino, an alleged “whistleblower”.
To recall, Divino accused the 2nd engineering district that the P100 million Central Line National Highway Project or roll-on, roll-off project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sub-standard.
Divino also urged the SP to investigate transactions at the Capiz Second Engineering District and made the following allegations:
Only one contractor, Kirskat Ventures Construction, gets all the projects; Contracts, particularly “pakyaw,” are prepared not at the DPWH 2nd Engineering District Office in Dumalag town but inside the office of Kirskat Ventures in Roxas City; and other subcontractors are involved in “paper,” but some do not have offices and track record in the construction business.
However, Engr. Hector Gargoles then strongly denied that Kirskat Venture Construction monopolized the projects adding that some 8 construction firms also have projects in the second districts.
Gargoles said that there was no such “pakyaw” contract prepared at the Kirskat Venture in Roxas City nor subcontractors who are involved in “paper” in the projects.
On his part, Gavia said all the road projects in Capiz are of good quality and assured that all projects in the second district all met the standard prescribed by the DPWH.
It was learned that Divino sued 4 engineers of the 2nd district engineering district of Capiz before the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
However, an engineer told The News Today (TNT) on condition of anonymity that Divino, who is now under the care of a politician, sued engineers to destroy the image of 2nd District Cong. Fredenil Castro. Castro’s wife, Jane, is running for congresswoman for the said district in the 2010 election.