Construction firm bills DENR P1.2B for 'unrealized delivery of land'

The Department of Environmental Resources (DENR) was billed P1.2 billion by a firm that constructed a resort in the environmentally protected Upper Marikina River Basin. 

The DENR said that the tab is from Blue Star Construction and Development Corporation (BSCDC).

The firm reportedly billed DENR for “legal, security and miscellaneous expenses [and] damages incurred from the delay of the delivery of the lot” starting June 2018.

The billing also supposedly included a monthly rental of P100,000 for a “professional squatter” for up to 10 hectares of land allocated for the National Bilibid Prison.

However, the DENR said that the billings filed by the company had no legal basis.

The DENR said that it has formed an investigation committee to look into the matter.

It said that it found that “the contracts entered into by BSCDC (Blue Star) had legal infirmities ranging from unlawful excise of land for housing purposes in a National Park to award of contracts without bidding.” —Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VAL, GMA Integrated News