Drilon: Government should not pay for Piatco’s bribes

Bribes and other unreasonable expenses should not be part of the reimbursement that the government would give Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) project, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

Drilon told reporters that Piatco, whose contracts for NAIA-3 have been invalidated by the Supreme Court, is entitled to reasonable compensation or reimbursement.

He said the government should insist that the Commission on Audit examine the expenses of the project proponent-building.

It should reimburse "only those which are reasonable and necessary in the construction of the facility," he said.

He said bribes to corrupt government officials and private parties, including "that Liongson" should not be part of the reimbursement.

Drilon was referring to Alfonso Liongson, whom Piatco paid more than $2 million in 2001 to do public relations work and obtain some concessions from the Arroyo administration.

In investigating the Piatco contract which it found tainted with irregularities, the Senate had not been able to locate Liongson, who is said to be close to the family of President Arroyo.

Many lawmakers do not believe that the mystery man pocketed all the money and was just serving as a conduit of some corrupt administration officials.

Actually, it was The STAR publisher Max Soliven who had unmasked Liongson.

Implementation of the NAIA-3 project has spanned three administrations, from former President Fidel Ramos, ousted President Joseph Estrada and the Arroyo leadership. Project cost has ballooned from $300 million to $650 million.

When she was reviewing the project, Presidential Adviser Gloria Tan-Climaco tried but failed to obtain a detailed listing of expenses incurred in the construction of the new terminal. — Jess Diaz