DPWH pressed on sanctions vs erring contractors

MANILA, Philippines - A senior administration lawmaker wants the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to explain why it has yet to adopt the Commission on Audit (COA)’s recommendation to file charges against erring contractors and blacklist them from future government contracts.

In House Resolution 1908, Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao said incidents involving erring contractors, if left unchecked, could result in substantial losses to the government.

Citing news reports, Aggabao said in 2007, P1.036 billion worth of projects implemented by DPWH field offices were not completed within contract time.

The COA report said the DPWH should collect liquidated damages from defaulting contractors and terminate the contracts of infrastructure projects with negative slippage of more than 10 percent resulting from the contractor’s fault or negligence, Aggabao added.

Aggabao said among the uncompleted projects cited by COA are bridge and road construction projects in Region II, Region IV-A, Region IX, Region X, and Region XI.

“Construction projects being delayed or unimplemented by erring contractors will deprive the public of much needed infrastructure,” he said.

Reports said the DPWH and COA have also indicated that among those that allegedly incurred increased costs were bridge projects implemented by the DPWH-Projects Management Office (PMO) through the Austrian Waagner Biro and British Balfour-Cleveland, reportedly with cost overruns up to 100 percent.

From the original P3.040-billion total project cost, the project with Balfour-Cleveland allegedly reached P5.431 billion.

Reports said the DPWH-PMO also noted that hundreds of millions of pesos were saved by the government when it completed the PBP and Urgent Bridges Development Project for Rural Development.

Specifically cited were the implementers of the Tulay ng Pangulo sa Barangay (Mabey-Johnson); Countrywide Bridges Program-SZOPAD (Mabey Johnson); and the Tulay ng Pangulo sa Kaunlaran (Mabey-Johnson), which were all already completed.

Quoting the COA report, Aggabao said state auditors again called the attention of the DPWH in 2009 after no legal actions were instituted to recover the P54.717 million in advances granted to contractors whose contracts were terminated because of abandonment of their projects.

Among the contractors who reneged on their obligations, the government had to recover P5.2 million from BC Garay Philwide Builders for the terminated contract to construct modified conventional-type, single-story school buildings in Batangas province and Region VI; P2.7 million from Bandila Construction and Development Corp. for three abandoned projects in Lanao del Sur; and P501,801 from Rely Construction and Supply for the Aliwagwag Bridge and approaches project on the Compostela-Cateel Road in Davao Oriental in which a final payment was made but recovery of advance payment was not deducted, Aggabao said.

Further, the COA report said the biggest portion of collectibles from contractors is the P44.8-million cost of projects in Region VII that were not even started.

Several advances granted to contractors at Regional Office No. VII for mobilization expenses totaling P44,813,321.62 were not recouped as of Dec. 31, 2009, the report said.

“Delays or non-implementation of infrastructure projects could have dire economic consequences,” Aggabao said.