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IN view of numerous queries I have been receiving on the plunder and graft cases that were filed with the Ombudsman by Reynaldo Joson, the chief of the Sanitary and Hygiene Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), against his fellow top officials and ambassadors of the department over its P5 billion annual repair and renovation budget, I decided to publish here his complaint in full. Here’s the complaint which Joson filed on June 16, 2014: “I, Reynaldo D. Joson, of legal age, with office address at Department of foreign Affairs, DFA Head Office, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, after having sworn to law, depose and state that:

“I am filing administrative and criminal complaints against the… Respondents (who are) officials of the (DFA) and (against) private contractors… Complainant was a former employee of the Asia Development Bank (ADB) as Building Maintenance head. After the DFA purchased the ADB building, it renamed the property as Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Head Office. “Complainant is a law abiding citizen and a taxpayer… 1. Sometime in 1995, the DFA Engineering Department created the Sanitary and Hygiene Unit where (I) was assigned as Unit Head. “2. As Head… my duties and responsibilities, among others, were: To supervise the contractors of the janitorial services in maintaining the cleanliness of the entire DFA building. “To supervise the beautification and sanitation of the DFA Head Office (and perform) other tasks as the Head of the Building Administrative Office may assign from time to time. 3. In 1995, U/Sec. for Administration Franklin Ebdalin instructed (me) to report directly to him and to perform the following `special assignments’:

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“(a) To monitor, observe and report directly to him concerning the performance of sub-contractors of DFA projects, such as: building renovation and improvement, among others, and to report any anomaly in the performance of the contracted jobs.  “On top of these assignments, I was (also) appointed as project coordinator of the Foreign Affairs Ladies Foundation (DFALAF) headed by Kay Siason, the wife of (then) Ambassador Domingo Siason. As Project Coordinator of DFALAF Office, I supervised the building and house beautification and the contractors initiated by the DFALAF Office. “4. Given this special assignment, I discovered anomalies in the performance of contractors and sub-contractors… With a combined allocated budget appropriation of Php5,000,000,000.00 (or P5 billion) for several years involving various projects, respondent DFA officials invited and awarded to contractors a number of major projects…”

“4. Given (my) Special Assignment, I discovered anomalies… as follows: With a combined allocated budget appropriation of P5 billion for years of various projects, respondent DFA officials… awarded to contractors, a number of major projects, to wit: Renovation of Roofing, P120 million; renovation of auditorium, P200 million; “Water proofing of roof deck, P45 million; replacement of asbestos ceilings to Hardiflex, from 13th floor to basement, P100 million; replacement of centralized air conditioned units, P200 million; replacement of water cooling; renovations of stairways, P10 million; replacement of fire alarm systems, P20 million; renovation of various parts of the DFA building, P20 million. “5.

It is worthy to note that the respondents awarded most of the winning bids to JD Legaspi Construction Corporation, the same contractor that is involved in the anomalous construction of the most expensive Macapagal Avenue, located at the Reclamation Area in front of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. “6. Complainant likewise discovered the following anomalies perpetrated by the Contractor, in cahoots with the respondents: Renovation of Roofing––Contractor JD Legaspi renovated the entire roofing of the DFA Main Office. The low quality of work by the contractor and poor engineering supervision caused the water leak of the DFA building.

“The water from the roofing accumulated at the Auditorium area (which) served as a catch basin. As the volume of the water increased, the ceiling collapsed. The structural support that held the ceiling failed to carry the load… Fortunately, there was no activity at the Auditorium at the time of the incident… “At the time of the unfortunate incident, JD Legaspi was still performing other renovation projects at the DFA Head Office Building. While the renovated roofing and auditorium were still under warranty, U/Sec. Frank Ebdalin hired another contractor to do the repair of the damaged ceiling, including the repair of water leaks, without invoking the warranty.

“Renovation of auditorium—The collapse of almost the entire ceiling of the Auditorium of the DFA building caused damage to properties including the entire carpet flooring of the auditorium. “In spite of the damage and warranty, respondents failed to take action against JD Legaspi, instead, another contractor was taken in to initiate the necessary repair/remedy, to the extent of purchasing a new set of (brand new) floor carpet at the expense of the Department…” More of this next issue.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com

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