Overprice of 27 percent on these projects
Probe could reach Palace — Lacson
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200502100401.htm
Meanwhile, Soriquez continued to face the ire of senators yesterday, with Sen. Panfilo Lacson calling for the DPWH secretary’s dismissal.
Lacson also called for a Senate investigation of Soriquez for alleged overpricing of 22 public projects in Metro Manila and in the provinces to the tune of P4 billion.
Lacson said unless Mrs. Arroyo fires Soriquez, the projected Senate probe "could lead all the way to the doorsteps of Malacañang."
He said the alleged anomalous projects were undertaken last year "during the months leading up to the 2004 presidential elections."
Lacson was a candidate in the presidential elections, which Mrs. Arroyo won.
Quoting findings of the Commission on Audit obtained from the Internet, according to Lacson, the DPWH paid P18.5 billion for 22 projects that it awarded to various contractors for P14.5 billion.
He said one such project was the C5-Kalayaan interchange in Pasay City that he claimed was overpriced by P12 million.
"There was an average overprice of 27 percent on these projects," the former PNP chief said.
He furnished reporters with a list of the 22 projects together with the contract price, the amount actually paid and the difference representing the "overpricing."
The list showed that the projects were funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the World Bank.
A bypass road in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte was supposedly padded by P427.8 million, a road improvement project in Cordillera by P331 million, a road widening in Marikina and Antipolo by P336.7 million, and two highway rehabilitation projects in Surigao del Sur allegedly overpriced by P643 million.
Lacson said three projects in Leyte were approved by Soriquez "all in one day, as if the government was in a rush."
On Tuesday night, during Senate deliberations on the DPWH budget, Senate President Frank Drilon also complained of overpricing on at least two projects in Iloilo, his home province.
He said the projects, one of which was worth P700 million, were not only overpriced but their completion was delayed as well.
Sen. Richard Gordon had a similar complaint, noting a bridge in Loboc, Bohol could not be completed "because it led directly to a church."
He said he could not understand how such a project got off the drawing board.
Soriquez faces a mutiny in his own backyard, with scores of undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, regional directors and other officials from his department seeking his ouster. — With Jess Diaz, AFP
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200502100401.htm
Meanwhile, Soriquez continued to face the ire of senators yesterday, with Sen. Panfilo Lacson calling for the DPWH secretary’s dismissal.
Lacson also called for a Senate investigation of Soriquez for alleged overpricing of 22 public projects in Metro Manila and in the provinces to the tune of P4 billion.
Lacson said unless Mrs. Arroyo fires Soriquez, the projected Senate probe "could lead all the way to the doorsteps of Malacañang."
He said the alleged anomalous projects were undertaken last year "during the months leading up to the 2004 presidential elections."
Lacson was a candidate in the presidential elections, which Mrs. Arroyo won.
Quoting findings of the Commission on Audit obtained from the Internet, according to Lacson, the DPWH paid P18.5 billion for 22 projects that it awarded to various contractors for P14.5 billion.
He said one such project was the C5-Kalayaan interchange in Pasay City that he claimed was overpriced by P12 million.
"There was an average overprice of 27 percent on these projects," the former PNP chief said.
He furnished reporters with a list of the 22 projects together with the contract price, the amount actually paid and the difference representing the "overpricing."
The list showed that the projects were funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the World Bank.
A bypass road in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte was supposedly padded by P427.8 million, a road improvement project in Cordillera by P331 million, a road widening in Marikina and Antipolo by P336.7 million, and two highway rehabilitation projects in Surigao del Sur allegedly overpriced by P643 million.
Lacson said three projects in Leyte were approved by Soriquez "all in one day, as if the government was in a rush."
On Tuesday night, during Senate deliberations on the DPWH budget, Senate President Frank Drilon also complained of overpricing on at least two projects in Iloilo, his home province.
He said the projects, one of which was worth P700 million, were not only overpriced but their completion was delayed as well.
Sen. Richard Gordon had a similar complaint, noting a bridge in Loboc, Bohol could not be completed "because it led directly to a church."
He said he could not understand how such a project got off the drawing board.
Soriquez faces a mutiny in his own backyard, with scores of undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, regional directors and other officials from his department seeking his ouster. — With Jess Diaz, AFP