Raffy Tulfo calls attention to P485-M unfinished Zamboanga port passenger terminal

Senator Raffy Tulfo called out the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Tuesday over a  two-storey passenger terminal in Zamboanga City that was supposed to be finished by 2023.

Tulfo said the construction of the project was approved by PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago and was awarded to Mac Builders with a contract price of P485 million. The notice to proceed was issued to the contractor in February 2021, he added.

“The agreed timeline for completion was 720 calendar days, targeting February 13, 2023. Pero it has been 932 days, hindi pa rin ito tapos. Sa ngayon, civil works appear to have been abandoned. No updates or accountability have been made  public by the Philippine Ports Authority,” the senator said in his privilege speech.

(But it has been 932 days, and it's still not finished. For now, civil works appear to have been abandoned. No updates or accountability have been made public by the Philippine Ports Authority.)

“The project as of date has a completion rate of only 56%. Kung ano-anong dahilan ang ibinibigay.  Limited supply of  construction materials, insufficient manpower, and persistent unworkable weather conditions,” Tulfo added.

(The project as of date has a completion rate of only 56%. All sorts of reasons are being given — limited supply of construction materials, insufficient manpower, and persistent unworkable weather conditions.)

Further, Tulfo pointed out that Mac Builders was blacklisted by the National Irrigation Administration in February 2021 due to the termination of the Malinao Dam improvement project in Bohol and was suspended for government procurement for a year from January 2021 to January 2022.

“Pero ang milagro, hindi pa lumalagpas ng isang buwan, February 19, 2021, ay hindi na blacklisted ang Mac Builders ng Government Procurement Policy Board,” he said.

(But the miracle is, less than a month later, on February 19, 2021, Mac Builders was no longer blacklisted by the Government Procurement Policy Board.)

“Kung gaano ka-delay ang kanilang mga projects, nakarating din sa akin na delayed din ito sa pagbayad sa mga empleyado.”

(Given how delayed their projects are, it also reached me that they are also delayed in paying employees.)

Following the ongoing probe on anomalous flood control projects, Tulfo said that it is also time to look into other infrastructure projects of the government.

“Dahil may momentum na tayo dito sa mga flood control projects, gusto kong tuloy-tuloy na itong pagungkat sa mga kalokohan sa ibang mga proyekto ng gobyerno. I want to focus on improving our transportation sector,” he said.

(Since we already have momentum with these flood control projects, I want to continuously dig into the anomalies in other government projects. I want to focus on improving our transportation sector.)

GMA News Online reached out to the PPA for a comment. But it referred to a statement issued on August 22 regarding the completion of the said port passenger terminal in Zamboanga.

“The PPA assures the public that the matter is being addressed with urgency, with termination proceedings already underway against the current contractor. The project is funded through PPA’s corporate resources - AND NOT FROM THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT - underscoring the agency’s commitment to prudence and accountability,” the statement said. — BAP, GMA Integrated News