Contractor seeks acquittal in Macapagal Boulevard 'overpricing' case

Jesusito Legaspi, private contractor for the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard road project, has asked the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to acquit him of graft charges, saying the government failed to prove the project was overpriced.

 

Legaspi, in a memorandum, asked the court's First Division to clear him of charges because he said witnesses and documents presented in the case show he was "wrongfully indicted."

 

Legaspi was charged in 2003 with allegedly conspiring with former officials of the Public Estates Authority and government auditors to bloat the cost of construction on the 2.3-kilometer road that connects Pasay and Parañaque by P532.93 million.

 

Although the P584.4-million contract was awarded in 1999, Legaspi's firm, JD Legaspi Construction, was only issued a Notice to Proceed in 2000, 205 days after it won the project.

Citing higher prices of construction materials, JD Legaspi asked for a P42.42-million adjustment of the contract price. The price adjustment was approved.  

 

Subsequent issuances by PEA (now PRA or Philippine Reclamation Authority) of Variation Orders added to JD Legaspi’s contract including additional earthworks (P81.67 million), sub-base (P30 million), drainage structures (P30.61 million) and two other items worth P76.49 million.

 

The prosecution’s principal witness, former PEA board member Sulpicio Tagud, claimed there was overpricing of up to P600 million.

 

The prosecution submitted for comparison a road project in the same area by the SM Group which cost P132.5 million for a 1.4-kilometer stretch and another project by R-1 Construction, which built a 1.2-kilometer section for P164.8 million.

 

The defense however pointed out that a technical team sent by the Commission on Audit declared the total project cost of P836.46 million reasonable because the company had to do more work than it was originally contracted to.

The extra work included excavating the original road bed and replacing filling materials to make the road stronger.

 

“Accused Legaspi, accordingly finished the construction of PDMB ahead of schedule. The quality of the PDMB speaks for itself. More importantly, COA found the construction to be reasonable and that there was no evidence of overpricing,” the defense said.

 

It also argued that even if the court finds former PEA officials violated procedures, Legaspi cannot be held liable because he is "a civilian and a private contractor with no participation in the policies and decisions of the government agency." — JDS, GMA News