ALBAY officials led by Gov. Joey S. Salceda on Monday scored the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for alleged “interminable delays” in awarding the contract for the construction of the Bicol International Airport in Daraga town.
Salceda, a Liberal Party (LP) stalwart and staunch campaigner of LP presidential bet Manuel Roxas II, broke his silence on the Bicol airport project after his pleas for DOTC’s prompt action has apparently “fallen on deaf ears.”
The governor said the P4-billion Bicol airport project started way back 2008. But after the runway and initial site development, construction of the terminal building hit a snag, especially during the watch of Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya.
“Reputable construction companies won the bidding for the terminal building phase as early as January 2015. However, eight months later, we learned that said bidder was disqualified on flimsy grounds during the post-qualification process,” Salceda said.
According to the contractors who bidded. The government already stood to save P100 million to P170 million from the P760-million budget of the project.
“To post disqualify us just based on a ground which does not exist in the law but solely on the basis of what appears to be a mistake made in good faith on our part based on a clearly appears to be technicality is not only anomalous, it is also immoral and criminal,” the winning bidder said.
By declaring a failed bidding, the DOTC’s Bids and Awards Committee found an excuse to conduct another bidding, and possibly accommodate a favored contractor, Salceda also said.
“Worse, the DOTC’s planned rebidding will further delay—by at least one year—the actual construction of the long-awaited Bicol International Airport. All our best-laid plans for tourism development and job creation will suffer as a consequence,” Salceda lamented.
He said Abaya should personally look into the Bicol airport bidding anomaly saying it does not speak well of the administration’s daang matuwid mantra.
“We, Albayanos, appeal for the immediate award and no to the rebidding. The bidding was fair and the government saves [money] already. I’m sure the next bidding will not get the same price. The government not only get the best price but the real losers are the Albayanos who work hard for the growth and development we deserve,” Salceda said.
“We understand that the Bicol airport is not the only major infrastructure project suffering from unjustified delays. Our people deserve better,” Salceda added.
He stressed that the Department of Public Works and Highways bids out and awards projects quickly and without fanfare. “The story at the DOTC is different. The longer projects are delayed, the more opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to mulct or make money from competing bidders,” he added.