'Blacklisted' contractor denies link to road project anomaly

MANILA, Philippines – One of the three Filipino contractors blacklisted by the World Bank for alleged irregularities in bidding for the road projects on Wednesday denied engaging in “corrupt, unsound, and fraudulent" acts. In an advertisement published on a national broadsheet, CM Pancho Construction, Inc. also said that the WB already cleared it from bid-rigging and colluding with other firms and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), adding that it will never resort to bribery and corrupt practices to earn or win its contracts. Aside from CM Pancho, also de-barred by the World Bank are EC de Luna Construction Corp. and Cavite Ideal International Construction and Development Corp. "The charges against CM Pancho are all false and baseless. Contrary to the erroneous content of the news items, CM Pancho was in fact cleared by the World Bank in its aforesaid decision of any charges of alleged corrupt, unsound and fraudulent practices," it said. "CM Pancho has likewise not colluded with any ‘cartel’ of the participating firms or any DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] official in the bidding process of NRIMP1 as it submitted legitimate bids, which can be justified up to the last centavo," it added. [The NRIMP 1, or National Roads Improvement and Management Program Phase 1, is WB’s program designed to assist the Philippine government to upgrade its roads network. It aimed to build roads and address weaknesses in project management, so that future roads projects would deliver more benefit at lower cost.] In the advertisement, the firm also underscored that its building, engineering, infrastructure, and mining contracts are "predominantly" entered with firms from the private sector, noting that it has only one project with the DPWH. "CM Pancho stands for meritocracy in conducting its business in general and acquiring it projects from both the private and public sectors…as shown by innumerable awards it has received from business and consumer groups," it added. It likewise said that the firm has a track record of being one of the construction industry’s "most stable and trusted construction firms." - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV