Iloilo overprice: Drilon, 2 Cabinet men face plunder raps

MANILA, Philippines - Another plunder charge has been filed against Senate President Franklin Drilon for the alleged P487.8-million overprice in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC).

Former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada Jr. filed the complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday.

Also included in the complaint were Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and six other government officials and private individuals.

Hilmarcs Construction Corp. (HCC), the contractor that built the controversial Makati City Parking Building II, was also named in the complaint along with its president Efren Canlas.

The respondent officials are also being accused of dishonesty and grave misconduct as well as violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Government Procurement Reform Act.

An earlier plunder case was filed against Drilon, Jimenez and Singson also in connection with the alleged overpriced construction of the ICC.

Mejorada, in his complaint, argued that the ICC, once completed, would be overpriced by P487.851 million because with a total floor area of 6,400 square meters, the unit cost for the construction and completion of the establishment would amount to P106,226 per square meter.

He noted that the SM Mall of Asia SMX convention center was built for P26,400 per square meter, which is within the industry standard of P30,000 per square meter.

“By any language, that is an overpriced contract cost for the completion of this building, which, computed at the industry standard of P30,000 per square meter, should only have cost not more than P192 million,” Mejorada said.

“The overprice for the project is glaring, because just across the street stands the 12-story Richmonde Hotel of Megaworld. This grand edifice, complete with world class furniture and fixtures that go with a five-star hotel, cost only P500 million,” he added.

Mejorada said Drilon is the principal proponent of the ICC project as it was he who pushed for the funding of the contract from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

“It is his baby. Hence, respondent Drilon must be held accountable for the loss of P488 million from the coffers of the government,” Mejorada said.

“He is presumed to have harvested the fruits of the anomalous expenditures way above what can be considered reasonable for the construction of the project,” the former provincial official alleged.

He also said the awarding of the contract to HCC was “infirm, invalid and violative” of the procurement law.

He said the officials and the other respondents in the complaint “confederated and conspired” to defraud the government.

“The conceptualization, procurement and implementation of this project oozes with dishonesty and grave misconduct,” he said.

“It was a high-level conspiracy involving the project proponent and key Cabinet secretaries in the government, and their subordinate officials, in cahoots with the private respondents,” he said.

“The construction of the Iloilo Convention Center is only a disguise for the proponent, respondent Franklin M. Drilon, to build an avenue for corruption with public funds coming from the DAP, which the Supreme Court had declared as illegal and unconstitutional,” he added.