More charges set to be filed vs PEA whistle-blower

Charges and counter-charges.

Public Estates Authority board director Rodolfo Tuazon yesterday said he is poised to file charges against his colleague-turned-scam whisle-blower Sulficio Tagud Jr. for implicating him and other members of the PEA board in an anomaly that he claimed never existed.

In a telephone interview, Tuazon told The STAR he and his colleagues will sue Tagud for malicious mischief, malicious prosecution, perjury and libel.

"(Tagud) committed many lies. He damaged the reputation(s) of several people. We’ll wait for the Ombudsman to finish his investigation before we will file the charges against (Tagud). We are sure we will be cleared by the Ombudsman," Tuazon added.

Tagud and 15 non-government organizations (NGOs) filed plunder charges against Tuazon, PEA chairman Ernest Villareal, general manager Benjamin Cariño, three other board directors and several members of the PEA management staff, the internal Commission on Audit (COA) and J.D. Legaspi Construction (JDLC) owner Jesusito Legaspi before the office of the Ombudsman last Oct. 3.

The PEA board members are also facing administrative charges before the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC).

Tuazon said Tagud essentially failed to prove his allegation that a portion of the 5.1-kilometer President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City was overpriced by some P600 million.

This, after Tagud reportedly told the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that he did not include the members of the old PEA board in his complaint because the bidding process for PDMB was conducted properly.

The 2.3-km segment of the controversial boulevard was awarded by the old PEA board chaired by Frisco San Juan to JDLC in 2000. Of the five bidders, JDLC gave the lowest bid at P584.3 million.

Tuazon admitted, however, that he did not personally hear Tagud’s statement, adding that this was relayed to him by his co-directors when he arrived at the hearing.

"His allegation that the contract was only P298 million does not apply anymore," Tuazon said. He added that throughout the hearing, it was made clear that the original contract price was P584 million.

At the start of the controversy, the PEA board explained that the road project was divided into two segments for lack of funds. Tuazon said Phase 1 involved P298 million and Phase 2 cost P285 million.

The approval of the P42 million price adjustment and fees for variation orders and overruns totaling P200 million is also aboveboard, the PEA board said. To date, JDLC stands to collect over P800 million for the project.

"The (contract) phases don’t mean there are two contracts," Tuazon said.

Leonard de Vera, one of Tagud’s lawyers, said he welcomes the charges Tuazon intends to file against his client. However, de Vera added that the charges should include all the complainants in the plunder charge.

"Whoever feels that they should go to court because of Tagud’s statement, that’s their right," de Vera said in a telephone interview.

However, the lawyer clarified that Tagud never told the Senate committee that "everything was aboveboard."

"My client withheld judgment against the old board, but that doesn’t mean he is clearing them (of any liability)," de Vera said.

In an interview late Friday, de Vera said Tagud’s lawyers were still looking for evidence that might show that the old board could be liable for the alleged project overpricing.

De Vera added that Tagud still does not have the complete documents that include both the old and new boards. The lawyer said PEA management seems to have "stonewalled" Tagud when he asked for the PDMB documents.

Cariño denied the allegation last Friday.

De Vera said Senator Joker Arroyo subpoenaed several documents that would be useful in the Senate’s investigation into the project.