MORE than 30 contractors won’t be paid by the Cebu provincial government for P607-million worth of infrastructure projects they undertook during the administration of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
“There is basis to deny their claim because these contracts weren’t approved by the Provincial Board meaning laws were bypassed,” Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said.
The governor met with the provincial government’s finance and engineering heads and the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) last Friday.
“Kataw-an ta sa pikas (Garcia’s camp). Ako’y kataw-an sa pikas. Nailad si Davide. Gibayran na diay (We will get laughed at by the other camp. They will laugh at me. Davide got tricked. He paid already),” he told reporters yesterday.
Since assuming office July last year, Davide remained adamant on his stand to withhold payment to contractors for projects undertaken as early as 2006 due to the lack of PB approval.
In a meeting with the contractors last October, he said the Cebu provincial government may pay on a staggered basis if the contracts get ratification from the PB.
But yesterday, Davide likened the ratification of the contracts as equal to “condoning an illegal act.”
“If we ratify the contracts, it would seem like we are condoning an illegal act. From the beginning, these contracts were in violation of the Local Government Code because the code says that every contract entered into by a local government unit requires approval from the Provincial Board,” he said.
Davide said the Cebu provincial government will file a counter case against the contractors if they choose to pursue a case demanding payment from the Capitol.
He said they will also include as third party, Garcia’s previous administration since they were the ones who entered into the contracts without PB approval.
“That’s their prerogative (to file legal action.) The provincial government will also file a third party complaint against my predecessor,” he said. A number of contractors demanded payment in the past six months to no avail.
Supreme ABF Construction, the contractor for the Danao Provincial Hospital and WTG Construction and Devt. Corp. abandoned the buildings during the middle of construction since they were not paid by the province.
The Cebu provincial government owes P188 million to WTG Construction and another P13 million to Supreme ABF based on records from the Provincial Treasurer’s Office
Davide said they are currently looking for a solution to finish the hospitals considering his administration’s priority on health services.
Out of the P607 million payables to contractors, P250 million worth of contracts were finished.
But only P88 million of the P250 million have obligation requests which meant that documents needed for the payment of the contractor were already acquired.