Capitol to buck contractor’s P83M bill
The Province of Cebu lost an arbitration case over a contractor’s P83 million money claim for projects undertaken during the previous administration of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
But Capitol officials won’t take this sitting down.
The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) yesterday authorized Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III in a special session to apply for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in court and a writ of preliminary injunction.
Provincial Legal Officer Orvi Ortega said they plan to file the petition with the Court of Appeals on Monday.
The contractor, Duros Development Corp., elevated its complaint to the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC).
Duros Development Corp. is one of 31 contractors which the Davide administration refused to pay for projects completed during the term of former governor Garcia since the projects were not approved by the PB.
After a period of mediation, the CIAC under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) issued a decision in favor of the contractor last Nov. 21.
Overpriced
The provincial government owed Duros P83 million for projects implemented as early as 2006.
Of the total payables of P607 million, P88 million had documents filed and “ready for billing.”
PB Member Grecilda “Gigi” Sanchez said the province asked the assistance of the Commission on Audit (COA) to assess whether the claims should be paid.
“We want more time to evaluate the projects and determine whether these were overpriced or not,” she said.
Other contractors with pending claims are WTG Construction and Development Corp. (P188.8 million) and Sargaso Construction (P146.9 million.)
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