Successful congress

By: Ricky Poca January 31,2016 - 01:40 AM

Today is the closing mass of the International Eucharistic Congress.

The activity at the South Road Properties (SRP) is expected to draw  about a million people this afternoon. The whole week saw different IEC   activities. This included delegates going to 14 parishes in Metro Cebu for an encounter with parishioners. Last Thursday was the “visita iglesia” where delegates were encouraged to visit and pray in seven churches in Cebu City.

Last Saturday at the Cebu City Sports Center was the first communion of about 5,000 children, including 500 from the poorest of the poor.

Last Friday afternoon, the entire stretch of  Osmeña Boulevard was closed to traffic for a Holy Mass in front of the Provincial Capitol followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The homilies, catechesis and testimonials heard in the IEC Pavilion and outdoor Masses were  so good, they provided a rich source for spiritual reflection.

From all indications, the 51st IEC was a huge success, based on feedback from many people, including delegates who were  satisfied with the lineup of activities, the accommodations and  traffic management.

Congratulations to the IEC organizers, especially the archdiocese of Cebu headed by Archbishop Jose  Palma and all working committees.

Thank you also for the presence of all the cardinals, bishops, priests and religious who came from different parts of the world. We would like to congratulate the city and provincial government for coordinating to ensure  the success of the IEC, and the people of Cebu City for their understanding and patience with the inconveniences caused by the hosting of an event of this magnitude.

The IEC got the cooperation of all sectors in the community, including different religions. Thank you, Lord God, for keeping all the delegates safe.

* * *

Last week the ad hoc committee in the Cebu Provincial Board that reviewed the governor’s recommendation to award a  P250-million supply contract for  heavy equipment  came out with its findings.   PB Member Gigi Sanchez, the head, was very careful in her report. She washed her hands of the controversy over   the decision to select  Conequip Philippines, the highest bidder.  She left it to the  executive department to decide what to do  after her  committee pointed to  some mistakes in the bidding process.

The committee sugarcoated its findings basically because Sanchez and the  governor  belong to the Liberal Party. As committee chairperson,  Sanchez didn’t  want to put the governor in a bad light since Davide is provincial chairman of LP.
The bids and awards committee  said it recommended Conequip Philippines as the bidder with the “lowest calculated responsive bid.” Two other bidders  RDAK Transport EQuipment and Civic Merchandising both offered  the “lowest calculated bid” at P235 milllion and P237.17 million, respectively,  but were  disqualified in the post-qualification evaluation.

The PB ad hoc committee in its report said a  grave mistake was made in the assessment of the Provincial Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC). The PB committee was just so kind in its findings to protect political interests.
It would have been better if the PB committee was direct in its findings and stated that the governor  should  void the bidding and not to award the contract to Conequip Philippines.
This  was a missed  opportunity for the  committee due to political accommodation.

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TAGS: Cebu, IEC, Mass, SRP, Statio Orbis

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