(UPDATE) THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will try to recover the “bonds, warranties, and performance securities” posted by erring contractors so that public funds are not wasted on ghost and flawed flood control projects.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said over the weekend that the move is part of the DPWH’s efforts to ensure that erring contractors will not only go to jail but also return the billions of pesos they stole from the taxpayers.
Dizon said flood control projects awarded in a public bidding have a five-year warranty.
“It’s just like when you buy a television with a warranty; it has to be replaced if defective,” he said.
As determined by the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, the usual bond is 15 percent of the contract amount for performance and 15 percent for the payment bond.
Performance bonds are usually based on the amount of the down payment given to the contractor.
A performance bond expires upon the completion of the contract works or on issuance of the certificate of completion.
There is also a performance security bank guarantee for a construction contract between a contractor and the DPWH.
The bank guarantee establishes that the bank will pay the department the amount specified if the contractor fails to meet its contract obligations.
Such a guarantee is valid until the department issues its certificate of acceptance after the defects liability period ends and the contractor submits the required warranty security.
Dizon said the DPWH is coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (Amlac) to freeze the assets of erring contractors, and with the newly created Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) once it starts its own investigation into the flood control project scandal.
Dizon said that he and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor will jointly file a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against contractors and DPWH officials behind the anomalous flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro.
The DPWH will file the cases as soon as the anomalies are fully documented, he said.
“For every criminal case we file before the Ombudsman, there will be a parallel process to ensure the return of public funds,” Garcia said.
Last week, Dizon filed charges of malversation through falsification of public documents, and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against 20 DPWH officials and four contractors.
Charged were contractors Mark Allan Arevalo of Wawao Builders, Sally Santos of Syms Construction Trading, Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, Cezarah Discaya of St. Timothy Construction Corp., and Robert Imperio of IM Construction Corp.
Also charged were former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara, former assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, construction section chiefs Jaypee Mendoza and John Michael Ramos, planning and design section chief Ernesto Galang, OIC maintenance section chiefs Lorenzo Pagtalunan and Jaime Hernandez, quality assurance section chief Norberto Santos, administrative section chief Floralyn Simbulan, finance section chief Juanito Mendoza, budget unit head Roberto Roque, procurement unit head Benedict Matawaran, cashier Christina Mae Pineda, project engineers Paul Jayson Duya, Merg Jaron Laus, Lemuel Ephraim Roque, Arjay Domasig, John Carlo Rivera, John Benex Francisco, and Jolo Mari Tayao.
