No amount of bullying will stop Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon from pursuing the investigation into the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center, a project partly funded with Senate President Franklin Drilon’s Disbursement Acceleration Program. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC
ILOILO CITY, Philippines—No amount of bullying will stop him from pursuing the investigation into the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), a project partly funded with Senate President Franklin Drilon’s Disbursement Acceleration Program.
Two days after Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon was supposedly accosted by Drilon at a dinner party hosted by Aurora Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, the youth representative said he wanted Congress to pursue an investigation into how controversial contractor Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. (HCC) was able to bag the P479-million contract to build the ICC.
“In the coming congressional investigation, we need to know whether the bidding of the contract was rigged, similar to the allegation in the Makati Parking Building project,” Ridon said in a statement, noting that HCC had won the contract through negotiated procurement after two failed public biddings.
Ridon’s allegation that the construction of the ICC was overpriced was refuted by both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Drilon, the main proponent of the project.
“It is disturbing to note that in the competitive bidding, Hilmarc’s did not even participate. But through negotiated procurement, it was able to clinch the project. It is highly possible that the contract was rigged,” Ridon said.
But engineer Edilberto Tayao, DPWH Western Visayas director, denied any irregularities in the bidding and the pricing of the building.
He said the bidding underwent the required process and all pertinent laws and procedures were followed.
Documents from the DPWH showed that two failed public biddings for the first phase of the project were conducted on June 18 and July 30, 2013.
HCC purchased bid documents but did not participate in the two biddings, citing its inability to meet the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of P482 million.
In the first bidding, two contractors—WT Construction Inc. and R.D. Policarpio & Co. Inc. (RDPCI)—submitted bids while six others, including HCC, did not participate.
But the bid of WT Construction Inc. was higher than the ABC. RDPCI was also disqualified for lacking the minimum required equipment for the project.
In the second public bidding, seven contractors, including HCC, purchased bid documents but only four submitted bids. These were Frey-Fil Corp., RDPCI, A.M. Oreta and Co. Inc./IBC International Builders Corp. (AMOCI/IBC) and J.D. Legaspi Construction (JDLC).
HCC again did not submit a bid because it could not meet the ABC. Two other contractors also failed to submit bids.
Frey-Fil Corp. was declared ineligible for the bidding because it lacked experience in undertaking the contract.
The bidding again failed because AMOCI/IBC submitted a bid higher than the contract price, while the bids of JDLC and RDPCI had technical defects and requirement deficiencies.
The DPWH resorted to a negotiated procurement after the two failed biddings, which is allowed under Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.
It invited four contractors—D.M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI), EEI, AMOCI/IBC and HCC.—which it said were eligible.
The DPWH also allowed the contractors to submit bids adopting “value engineering” principles. This involves modification in original materials and design to lower costs without changing functionality and architectural design.
In the bidding on Sept. 24, only HCC and DMCI tendered bids while the two others sent letters of nonparticipation.
RELATED STORIES
Drilon bullied me, Ridon charges
Probe of P.7B Drilon project sought