Mystery shrouds unfinished USTP building

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

MYSTERY continued to shroud the unfinished twin four-story student center and education complex building of the state-owned University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines as school officials kept mum on the details pertaining to the project that was ordered stopped in January 2017.

All that is known of that unfinished project is that it was designed by the then USTP faculty member architect Rey Galua, now considered by the police as a “person of interest” in the investigation into the Dec. 2, 2017 murder of USTP president Ricardo Rotoras, and that the multimillion-peso construction project, awarded to San Juan-based Wing An Construction and Development Corp., was ordered stopped some time in January 2017.

Galua was arrested during a raid early this week and charged with illegal arms, ammunition and explosives possession before the prosecutor’s office. The raid and the police complaint have nothing to do with the Rotoras case.

Lawyer Jonathan Oche, USTP vice president for administration and legal affairs, declined to answer more questions. He referred this paper to the university’s spokesperson-designate Annlorreine  Sitoy.

Sitoy however proved to be an uninformed spokesperson when it came to the unfinished P200-million Student  Center and Education Complex Building.

Sitoy said she also had no information about the USTP contract with Wing An Construction and Development Corp. or who signed it.

Neither did the USTP officials say exactly who ordered the construction project stopped or why the university terminated the contract in January last year. It was Atty. Oche who earlier revealed to this paper that the project contract was terminated.

Sitoy said the only thing she was certain about was that it was Galua who designed the unfinished building.

She said Galua was also responsible for the design of USTP’s administration building and information technology building.

Sitoy said she was unaware if Galua had a construction firm or not, or if the then USTP faculty member was contracted to make the architectural design of the unfinished building.

This paper checked and found out that Galua is the principal architect of RD Galua Associates with office address at Mandumol St., Upper Macasandig.

“Wala gyod ko makabalo kon nangontrata ba na siya (Galua),” said Sitoy.