Mitra defends Malampaya projects, cries demolition job

Palawan Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra on Friday branded as “hypocritical moralists” critics of the projects constructed from profits of the Malampaya fund, which were undertaken during his term as congressman of Palawan’s second district from 2004 to 2008.

In a press statement, Mitra said the critics “have recycled old charges because they have nothing new to tell the people of Palawan.”

Puerto Princessa Bishop Pedro Arigo and Mika Ortega, daughter of slain Palawan broadcaster Gerry Ortega, said Tuesday that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Palawan officials should be charged with plunder for the misuse of P2.3 billion in profits from the Malampaya gas project.

Arigo and Ortega said Arroyo and company should be held responsible for entering into an agreement with the provincial government that was “designed to plunder” the Malampaya funds.

“With their eyes set on the May 2013 elections, they have politicized the issue. But they cannot go far with their exaggerated claims and imagined conclusions that cannot stand on facts,” Mitra said.

Mitra is seeking a second term next year based on the success of his Health, Energy, Education, Agriculture and Tourism (Heat) program that has improved the economic and social life of thousands of Palaweños.

He said his advocacy of clean and transparent governance and sound fiscal management fetched for Palawan the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Seal of Good Housekeeping last year.

Singled out

Saying he was being “singled out for demolition,” he noted that the proceeds from the Malampaya gas project were equally distributed among the two congressional districts and the province, and the capital city of Puerto Princesa got a share from his district’s allocation.

Mitra’s legal counsel, Winston Gonzales, said the Commission on Audit found no “deliberate and widespread corruption, or any indication that the (Malampaya-funded projects) funds  were actually stolen.”

“At most, some are documental lapses in the bidding process and minor deficiencies, which if quantified would amount to less than three percent of the total project costs,” Gonzales said.

To conform with bidding requirements, he pointed out that an Invitation to Apply for Eligibility to Bid (IAEB) advertisement was published twice in the Manila Standard, a newspaper of general circulation, on Feb. 7 and March 4, 2008.

It was also posted in the procuring entity’s (Department of Public Works and Highways) website from Feb. 26 to March 3, 2008.

During the period, Gonzales said the Palawan Second Engineering District Office (PSEDO) had no existing account name in the Government Electronic Procurement System (G-EPS). The encoder in charge of posting was then instructed by the bids and awards committee (BAC) chairman to post the IAEB in the G-EPS using another account.

“Due to nonformal training in the system, she (encoder) inadvertently did not conform and secure proof of posting,” Gonzales said.