ILIGAN City ― I asked Lucrecia, a friend what her friend, Carlita died of recently, and she replied simply, ”It’s duplicated,” My other friend Fely who was also around, just laughed a little and then said, “Complicated.” That was by way of correction.
Now, I remember all that when the topic of this “world-class” project called Palao market. In late 20l9, the vendors of said market were then ordered to be transferred to the temporary market at Tambo. They were reluctant because the ceilings there were very low.
This was corrected by the city then under Mayor Celso G Regencia. With the cost of the said market growing but the ceilings corrected, And the name of the contractor not revealed.
The vendors then reluctantly transferred there. With the market at Palao given the attention. So, in early 2020, it was then began. With a cost then of P500 m complete with underground parking. To be completed per plans, on December 31, 2021,
Residents here for those who cared talked about the “mystery” behind the contractor, BM Marketing. For one, they are not from here, why was there no equipment that rolled into the city? Adding to the “mystery” is that some residents from as far as Cebu City wrote this writer about said contractor. Which I need not detail here.
And then Covid surged, giving the contractor good reasons why it had to request for extensions. Extensions, extensions, extensions, and more extensions. As in extensions pa more.
Some good things never last though. For the admin of CGR didn’t last. And the admin of Frederick W. Siao did not ‘like those extensions. According to a member of the transition team under the new admin, Roy Openiano, the contractor’s rep and the consultant of said project who was from Manila, had an altercation. Regarding the time when the project would be finished. Right before the transition team’s eyes. One said it would be February of 2023 while the other said it would be November of 2022.
And then the new admin of Siao made a decision. Which was to terminate said contractor. and it did so, in April 2023. BM Marketing did not take it lying down or sitting down. It lost no time in filing a case with a regional trial court here. But the court here made some quick decisions. That it was not within their jurisdiction to decide on matters regarding construction projects. The proper venue was the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission.
The contractor did so.
Questions: Why did the Project Implementation Unit under the past administration of Celso G. Regencia keep quiet about the lapses of the contractor during that time? Were they afraid of the mayor then? Why did it have to come to the point of so many lapses or slippage, up to 35 percent when the law, according to them allows only 15 percent? Or maybe, some voiced out, there were some;” developmental” matters going on?
So there, these are just some of the matters that add up to the duplications, I mean, complications. We may now ask, how many projects are there in the country with this kind of well, complications? Or variations of these?
Email: nora.lady@yahoo.com or contact 09277983167|09073384874
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