Ombudsman finds basis to charge Palawan gov Alvarez with graft over P193-M water deal

The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge Governor Jose Alvarez of Palawan with graft over the allegedly anomalous water supply contract he entered into with officials of the Cagayan de Oro City Water District (COWD) in 2005.

Alvarez, then a representative of Rio Verde Water Consortium, Inc. (RVWCI), may be indicted for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

He is a co-accused of COWD board chairman Raymundo Java, vice chairman Sandy Bass Sr., and general manager Gaspar Gonzales Jr. All of them will each face two counts of graft. 

One count of graft will be charged against COWD board members Sarah Borja and Francisco Mendez, treasurer Bibiana Sarmiento, board secretary Joel Baldelovar, and former Local Water Utilities administrator Lorenzo Jamora.

Private respondents named in the case are Geo-Transport and Construction Inc. (GTCI) president and general manager Edward Chona. 

Graft investigators found that a supplemental agreement worth P193 million for the Cagayan De Oro City Water Supply System Improvement Project was entered into by COWD and GTCI on December 23, 2005 without public bidding. Instead, it was a negotiated contract.

COWD then awarded a Bulk Water Supply Agreement to RVWCI for the supply of treated bulk water to the city on December 23, 2004. 

However, procurement documents recovered by the Ombudsman showed that the COWD board already gave the project to RVWCI even before the opening of bids on November 18 and despite the consortium's failure to submit eligibility requirements.

The Ombudsman said in its resolution that the contract for the project was prepared solely in favor of RVWCI with no opportunity for the signatories to review its provisions. 

The Ombudsman said it took the COWD board more than two years to notice the differences between the model contract and the signed contract with RVWCI concerning the billing rates, which went up to P11.52 per cubic meter instead of the agreed upon P10.45 per cubic meter.

“In so doing, not only did respondent Board members contravene the procurement law and blatantly demonstrate impropriety and partiality, they also belie their averment that they did not receive the BAC Resolution disqualifying the RVW consortium,” the Ombudsman said.

The anti-graft body added that the lapses of the COWD board showed that they "acted with evident bad faith, manifest partiality and gross inexcusable negligence when they signed the contract without first reading it, to the prejudice of the COWD.”

Java, Bass, Sarmiento, and Baldelovar also face charges of violation of Section 7(d) of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for allegedly receiving two water tankers and a brand-new Toyota Revo from the contractors.

GMA News Online is contacting the camp of Alvarez for comment as of posting time. —KG, GMA News