KIDAPAWAN CITY – An anti-corruption group in Kidapawan City filed on Tuesday graft charges against two officials — the Mayor and the city administrator — for their alleged failure to implement on time the wastewater treatment project for the city’s public market and slaughterhouse. Charged before the office of the deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao in Davao City were:
Kidapawan City Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco and City Administrator Rodolfo Cabiles, Jr., who also chairs the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). The four-page affidavit-complaint, which was subscribed and sworn to before acting city prosecutor Melvin Lamata, Sr., was signed by the following officers of the the Watchful Advocates for Transparent, Clean, and Honest Governance in Kidapawan (Watch Kidapawan): Abner Francisco, chairperson, and Vilma Gonzales, secretary-general. Based on the complaint, the construction of the wastewater facility should have started in 2008 after the loan amounting to P5.954 million was released by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). The latest records from the bank obtained by the group showed that the city government has already paid the DBP at least 70 percent of its loan, including interests. However, the construction has not yet begun on the proposed site, located at the city’s slaughterhouse in Barangay Magsaysay here, according to Francisco. “The continued neglect and refusal of Gantuangco and Cabiles to implement and complete in time the project, without sufficient justification, is discriminating, disadvantageous, detrimental, and prejudicial to the taxpayers and the constituents, in general," said the complaint. Mayor's defense Meanwhile, Gantuangco said he and his administrator are willing to shed light on the issue if given the chance to explain their side. “We’ve done nothing wrong here. The process was just right. It was the EcoGov 2 that requested for the deferment of the project since they wanted to make changes in the design. Some P400 thousand is needed to cover the expenses if the changes in the project design push through," said Gantuangco. “We will face these charges. I see this as a welcome development so that the public may know that I was not negligent on my duty. Also, it was not the city government that refused to implement the project. It was the BNS Phils that has failed in so many instances to submit the requirements needed to realize this plan. I have done nothing wrong. The money is intact. It has not been touched or used for other purposes," he stressed. Criminally liable? Francisco said that Gantuangco should be held criminally liable for entering, in behalf of the city government, into an agreement with Basic Needs Services-Philippines, Inc., (BNS-Phils), which is allegedly disadvantageous to the public. The BNS-Philippines, Inc., a duly registered non-profit organization whose main office is in Cubao, Quezon City, was the city government’s preferred consultant on the project, after many failed public biddings. The BNS-Phils could not be reached for comment as of posting time. The city government tapped BNS-Phils after the city engineering office admitted to the BAC that it lacks expertise to undertake the wastewater treatment facility project. The local government unit (LGU) used as basis the provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Procurement Act, for a negotiated purchase and chose BNS-Phils as project consultant. On July 25, 2008, the city LGU inked with BNS-Phils a memorandum of agreement (MoA) for technical assistance. The agreement, in particular, stated that the BNS-Phils would prepare the detailed engineering design and the detailed cost plan of the decentralized wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) for the city. The city government has also agreed to assign BNS Philippines as a supervisor during the construction of the facility. Lack of diligence The complaint said: “That Gantuangco, upon entering into such agreement with BNS-Phils., failed to exercise diligence and correct judgment… and that the failed biddings and the continued refusal of BNS-Phils., to comply with the necessary requirements are actual manifestations of the respondents’ failure to meticulously study the capability, sincerity, and capacity of the preferred consultant, which in turn became damaging and injurious to the interests of the city’s taxpayers." The Watch Kidapawan said that despite the remedies resorted to by the LGU, the BNS- Phils still failed to start the establishment of the facility. When the issue was raised at the city’s Sanggunian in August last year, Francisco claimed that the investigation, in aid of legislation, has just become a ‘grandstanding’ for many councilors. “We were so frustrated by the way the Sanggunian handled the issue. Four months after the issue was raised in their level, none was done so far to compel the executive department to realize the project," said Francisco. Clean water and air The plan to construct a wastewater treatment facility was hatched in 2005 to comply with the Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water and Air Act, which states that “local government units shall share the responsibility in the management and improvement of water quality within their territorial jurisdictions." The city government thus inked an agreement with the Philippine Environment Governance Project Phase 2 (EcoGov 2), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 on September 25, 2005. Based on the rapid assessments conducted by EcoGov 2, both the city’s public market and slaughterhouse were found to have discharged untreated wastewater to Nuangan River, one of the longest rivers in North Cotabato. The city government was also found to have poorly maintained its wastewater treatment lagoons. Three years later, the city government was granted an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 12 conducted a thorough review and evaluation of the initial environmental examination report it submitted. The city LGU has already incurred a huge amount for the wastewater treatment facility project, including the regular payments of the loan to the bank. Anti-corruption watchdog Francisco of Watch Kidapawan is also program director of Charm Radio here. He said their filing of graft charges against the two city officials “was just the start of our job as an anti-corruption watchdog." “We’re serious in our campaign to rid our government of graft and corruption and that transparent, clean, and honest governance should prevail over vested interests of our politicians," said Francisco. “We will make these officials accountable for our money," said Francisco. The Watch Kidapawan, composed of working print and broadcast journalists, progressive individuals, and members of the civil society. It was organized in July 2010 after a training given by the Institute for Peace and War Reporting under the Philippine Transparency Reporting Project, in partnership with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. – VVP, GMANews.TV 
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
