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.
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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.