Philippines Today

NEWS
Palace probes ghost projects. - July 30 2008

Non-bailable plunder case held likely

Malacañang has concluded its fact-finding investigation of reported irregularities in several Camarines sur DPWH projects particularly in the Third District of Camarines Sur and is now submitting to the Ombudsman its report which will serve as basis for the filing of criminal charges against government officials and contractors involved in the project.

This was confirmed to the PENINSULA MONITOR by a Malacañang official who was here in Bicol recently.

The official said the investigating team was an inter-agency group tasked by Secretary Cerge Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff, to look into reported unimplemented but paid projects costing P170 million in the Third District of the province which should have been completed before the May 2007 election since bidding was conducted way back in November 2006.

Those involved could be charged with the non-bailable offense of plunder the amount involved being more than P50 million.

The suspected ghost projects include 11 road rehabilitation and one desilting projects each costing P14,475,000. Seven segments were supposed to improve the existing Caramoan Peninsula Road now known as Gov. Felix A. Fuentebella Highway but no work whatsoever of the magnitude ever took place along the route between January to May,2007.

The existence of the P170 million project package was confi rmed to PENINSULA MONITOR by no less than DPWH Regional Director Orlando B. Roces late in 2006 before implementation was supposed to start.

Archbishop Leonard Z. Legazpi, O.P., D.D., Archbishop of Caceres and Bishop Manolo A. de los Santos, D.D., Bishop of Virac, in a joint letter two months ago had asked Malacañang to “look into” the reported anomaly.

Malacañang investigators told PENINSULA MONITOR that the road route is not even passable now, compelling them to walk to be able to reach the supposed project sites.

Meanwhile, in other suspected ghost projects funded by the Department of Agriculture but implemented by the provincial government of Camarines Sur, several residents of Garchitorena have courageously volunteered to execute affidavits that no road opening work was ever undertaken from barangays Del Pilar to Ason, Bahi and Sagrada. A P30 million road opening project was supposed to be implemented also before the May 2007 election in the area but no work was ever done and COA found out that an old logging road built by loggers was the only visible road in the area.

The project was part of a P100 million project package, fund for which was transferred to the Camarines Sur provincial government last year. Included in the package were the Caranan-Dalupaon Road in Pasacao (P30M), Tomagoktok-Mabini-Palanas-Pamplona-Bagong Sirang Road in Del Gallego (P30M) and the Salogon-Ponglon-Tagas Road in San Jose (P10M). All were either not implemented or improperly implemented according to a COA report.

Asked to comment on the reported irregularity, DA Regional Director Jose Dayao could not tell whether the projects were implemented or not saying that the provincial government was the one supposed to implement the projects. He admitted, however, that it was their duty to monitor the implementation but that they were merely waiting for periodic reports from Capitol engineers whose contents Dayao would not also revealed.

Source:
http://crane-caramoan.org/news/20080430/01.php