DPWH: Oriental Mindoro substandard flood control project contractor to be held accountable

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday said the contractor of a substandard flood control project recently discovered in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro will be held accountable.

“Kailangang panagutin ang contractor na 'yan. So siya magpapagawa, magpapaayos. Pero ngayon na nakita na natin na substandard din kasi 3 meters ulit 'yung sheet pile kamukha rin nu'ng sa Sunwest, eh kailangan imbestigahan na 'yan and most likely kakasuhan din natin ang mga involved,” Dizon said in an interview.

(The contractor must be held accountable. He will be the one who will fix and repair this. But now that we have also seen that it is substandard — because the sheet pile is only 3 meters like the one done by Sunwest — this should be investigated and most likely those involved will face charges.)

Dizon was referring to two flood control projects in Barangay San Andres in the municipality of Naujan that were recently inspected by Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito "Bonz" Dolor. 

The projects are a road dike and esplanade along Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Sitios 1 and 2 (counting as one project) and Sitios 3 and 4 (counting as another project), according to a report by Darlene Cay on Unang Balita on Monday.

Both projects were constructed not according to plan and part of it was broken. The sheet pile used were not the same as the one detailed in the plan, Dolor said.

Dizon said the contractor of the said project is New Big Four J.

Even if the infrastructure project is repaired, the contractor cannot escape liability, Dizon said.

“Substandard eh. Iba 'yung nasira, iba 'yung issue ng substandard, at dahil doon may pananagutan,” Dizon said. 

(It is substandard. That is different from a project that is broken. And because of that, there should be accountability.)

Dizon was asked if there is a possibility that the contractor had a connection with former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

“Posible kasi malapit si, na-establish na si former RD (Gerald) Pacanan malapit kay Usec. Bernardo so posible, hindi ako magtataka, posible. Wala tayong choice diyan kahit na nasa Witness Protection Program si Usec. Bernardo. 'Yung mga ganyang mga impormasyon, kailangan 'yang imbestigahan, at 'yan lahat isa-submit natin sa DOJ (Department of Justice) at saka Ombudsman,” Dizon said.

(Possible, because former regional director Pacanan was established to be close to Usec. Bernardo, so it's possible. I will not be surprised, it's possible. We have no choice even if Usec. Bernardo is in the Witness Protection Program. Those kinds of information need to be investigated, and we will submit these to the DOJ and Ombudsman.)

The contract for these two flood control projects were signed by officials of the DPWH regional office in Mimaropa, same as the earlier flood control project in Mindoro, he said.

“Nakita ko na 'yung mga papeles. Sila former regional director (gerald) Pacanan din ang pumirma. Alam n'yo naman nakakulong na si former RD Pacanan. Pero ito na nga 'yung sinabi ko na patong-patong talaga 'yung mga kaso. So habang may nakikita tayong ganyan eh kakasuhan natin," Dizon said.

(I saw the papers and former regional director Pacanan and others signed them. You know that former RD Pacanan has been detained already. But this is what I'm saying, that cases will pile on top of each other. So when we see such (anomalous projects), we will file charges.)

"Pero 'yung New Big Four J ngayon papadalan na ng demand letter to repair dahil subject ng warranty. Roughly nasa parang ang estimate ata ay nasa P20 plus million ang repair,” Dizon said.

(The New Big Four J will be given a demand letter to repair because the projects are still subject to warranty. The estimated cost of repair is roughly P20 plus million.)

The DPWH will continue investigating the entire stretch of the flood control project in Naujan because the other parts of the project were awarded to other contractors, the secretary said.

“Yung buong stretch na 'yon, subject ng investigation 'yan. May Discaya rin kasi doon so lahat 'yon binubuo na 'yung mga investigation reports. So 'yun nga, 'yung suspetsa natin na talagang dinaya nila 'yung buong stretch na 'yan ay nako-confirm nitong bagong nakita ni Gov. Dolor," Dizon said.

(That whole stretch is subject to investigation. The Discayas are also among the contractors who bagged parts of the project, so the investigation reports are being done. So our suspicion that the entire stretch of that project is anomalous has been confirmed by the new discovery of Gov. Dolor.)

Dizon said he plans to visit Oriental Mindoro again in the next few weeks to see how the repairs can be done faster.

He said he will bring with him the experts from their technical working group. —Ian Cruz/KG, GMA Integrated News