DPWH stops P711-M underpass deal in Mandaue City

ROAD BUMPWork on the underpass along UN Avenue in Mandaue City has started but the Department of Public Works and Highways has terminated the project contract. Junjie Mendoza

CEBU CITY—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has ordered the termination of contract of a firm that bagged the P711.8-million underpass project over allegations that it falsified its track record to get the deal.

Mario Montejo, DPWH assistant director for Central Visayas, said they were coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General in implementing the order against B.M. Marketing.

The company earlier won the bid to build the 952-meter, four-lane underpass on UN
Avenue in Mandaue City that would lead directly to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, which connects mainland Cebu to Mactan Island.

Montejo said it would be the central office in Manila which would enforce the order.

But he said they were notified about the petition for injunction filed by B.M. Marketing to stop the DPWH from terminating the contract.

Montejo said the petition was filed by B.M. Marketing in Mindoro.

Asked why in Mindoro, he said he had no idea and declined to issue further statement.

When reached for comment, Edgar Tiu, owner of B.M. Marketing, declined to issue a statement, saying the matter was already in the court.

The decision to terminate the contract stemmed from complaints sent to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and Ma. Victoria Gregorio, DPWH acting director for procurement service.

The complainants asked the DPWH officials to investigate B.M. Marketing on allegations that it falsified its track record to bag the multibillion-peso contract in Cebu.

They said B.M. Marketing submitted to DPWH a report on “a large completed private road project” that was credited to its work experience.

The project, called “Black Mountain Eco-Commercial and Industrial Land Development Work,” was owned by Black Mountain Construction and Marketing Inc.

It consisted of a 2,019-square-meter perimeter fence worth P56.2 million and a 29.04-kilometer road worth P426.6 million, which B.M. Marketing reported to have been completed in nine months.

“With such a grand project done in such a short time, why is it that we cannot find any ‘Black Mountain Eco-Commercial and Industrial Land Development Work Project’ anywhere in the Philippines? B.M. Marketing did not disclose the location of the project,” said a letter addressed to Villar.

It also claimed that both B.M. Marketing and Black Mountain Construction and Marketing Inc. had the same registered principal address in Eastern Samar province and shared the same email address.

Same owners?

Tiu was listed as sole owner of B.M. Marketing while he and his family members were listed as incorporators of Black Mountain Construction and Marketing Inc.

According to the complaints, construction under the Black Mountain Eco-Commercial and Industrial Land Development Work Project started on March 17, 2016.

But Black Mountain Construction and Marketing Inc. did not exist at that time since it was incorporated by the Securities and Exchange Commission only on Sept. 5, 2016, or six months after the supposed start of the 29-km road project, the complaints said.

They said B.M. Marketing won the contract to build the underpass due to its experience in completing the 29-km project. —WITH A REPORT FROM MELVIN GASCON