PPA biddings above board, says contractors’ group

The National Contractors Association of the Philippines (NACAP) has determined that all biddings entered into by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) are above board.

In a statement released by NACAP president Willy Cristobal, the group attested to the transparency and strict adherence of the PPA to the rules and regulations for public biddings, following an investigation into reports that the agency had embarked on a project which was disadvantageous to the government in terms of quality and price.

Cristobal also denied the allegations of Ariel Lim linking the former to allegation that the two NACAP officials called the attention of President Arroyo on the irregularities on the PPA’s reclamation project at Culasi port in Roxas City. News reports quoted Lim as saying that substandard materials were used in constructing the port and that the port is likely to collapse since the base posts are rotting.

But according to Cristobal, Lim has been misrepresenting NACAP. Lim’s construction firm, Atlantic Erectors, Inc., has been blacklisted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for failing to deliver on his company’s commitments to another government project, Cristobal said.

Cristobal added that his group had received from the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) documents of the blacklisting of Lim’s company. It is for this reason that NACAP was compelled to expel Lim from the organization, Cristobal explained.

"The leadership of NACAP never tolerates members of the association that undertake anomalous transactions to the prejudice of the government," Cristobal said, adding NACAP was organized to police its own ranks, discipline contractors, expose grafters in the government, remove contract fixers in the construction company and help the current administration in rebuilding the nation into a strong republic.

NACAP also apologized to the PPA for dragging the agency into the controversy which involves only two of its member contractors.