I WONDER what President Aquino will say in response to accusations that top officials and ambassadors of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under his presidency have been squandering some P5 billion in annual maintenance budgets for their office, allegedly disbursed for questionable works and projects that have been paid for with hundreds of millions.In a complaint for plunder that was filed and is still pending with the Office of the Ombudsman, the complainant who made the accusations was identified as Reynaldo Joson, the head of the Sanitary and Hygiene Unit of the DFA.Joson, through a 15-page complaint, detailed the projects that the DFA allegedly paid with millions: renovation of roofing, P120 million; renovation of auditorium, P200 million; water roofing of the DFA roof deck, P45 million; replacement of asbestos ceiling to Hardiflex ceiling, P100 million; replacement of centralized air-conditioning units, P200 million; renovation of staiways, P10 million; replacement of fire alarm system, P20 million and renovation of various parts of the DFA building, P20 million.
Here are some details provided for by Joson to buttress his charge for plunder against DFA officials and ambassadors: for the P120 million renovation of the DFA roof, “the low quality of work by the contractor and poor engineering supervision caused the water lead of the DFA building. The water from the roof accumulated at the Auditorium area and served as a catch basin.“As the volume of water increased, the ceiling collapsed. The structural support that held the ceiling failed to carry the (water) load, (causing it to) collapse. Fortunately, there was no… activity at the Auditorium at the time… (even if) almost the entire ceiling of the DFA head office… (collapsed)…” Joson charged.
Then, “while the renovated roof and auditorium were still under warranty, U/Sec. Franklin Ebdalin hired another contractor to do the repair of the damaged ceiling, including the repair of the water leak, without invoking the warranty.” For the P200 million renovation of the DFA auditorium, Joson claimed that the DFA officials whom he sued before the Ombudsman “failed to take action against (the contractor and) instead, another contractor was taken in to initiate the necessary repair/remedy, to the extent of purchasing a newt set of brand new floor carpet…” In so far as the P200 million replacement of the DFA’s centralized air conditioning system, a contractor who got most of the other multi-million peso projects at the DFA was “contracted to replace the centralized air conditioning system. This project was made with the purchase of brand new equipment found to be non-operational.”“Up to the present, the brand new centralized air conditioning system that the (same contractor) supplied and installed nine years ago (are) still brand new but non-operational,”Joson also declared.
Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com
