Quezon dam project backed amid questionable bidding

MANILA, Philippines — Bidding requirements should be fully complied with before efforts to construct the Kaliwa Dam project in Quezon province could push through to address the dwindling water supply in the country, an administration lawmaker said yesterday. 

“I support all the initiatives, including this one to address Metro Manila’s water woes. This dam is a very good project by the government,” Manila Rep. Manny Lopez, chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development, said, referring to the Kaliwa Dam project. 

Lopez reminded the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to address the procedural issues raised by the Commission on Audit (COA) allegedly due to questionable bidding process. 

“No one is above the law. The MWSS should comply with the COA findings before proceeding with the project,” Lopez said.

The COA said the bidding was done in the guise of being a competitive procurement process, noting the alleged intentional non-compliance to qualification requirements by two of three Chinese contractors.

“As a result, only the China Energy Engineering Corp. Ltd. qualified, which is questionable as the two bidders were disqualified in the first and second stages of the process due to their seemingly intentional purpose not to comply with the requirements,” the COA said in its Audit Observation Memorandum dated June 10 this year.

MWSS administrator Emmanuel Salamat told the Lopez committee last week that they would push through with the project despite questions on the $211-million contract with China and its impact on the indigenous peoples’ community.