Makati building improper CoA

The Commission on Audit (CoA) said yesterday that the Makati City Hall Building 2 was built with undue haste as there were no construction plans yet when it was bid out and awarded to Hillmarcs Construction Corp (HCC).

Speaking at the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committees investigation, Alexander Juliano director of the CoA fraud audit office that conducted a special audit on the building said this is considered a red flag as the swiftness of the implementation of a P2.367-billion project requires careful conceptualization and planning before it is carried out.

Records, Juliano said, showed that the City of Makati had disbursed an aggregate amount of more than P2,367,679,633.95 as of December 31, 2013 for the construction of the parking building. All five phases of the project were awarded to HCC, though three bidders participated in the first phase, HCC, JBros Construction, and ITP Construction Inc.

A perusal of the records will show that Phase 1 was implemented with undue haste. Firstly, there was only a gap of one month from the passage of the appropriation ordinance on November 8, 2007, Juliano said, citing the CoAs nine-page preliminary report.

While the swiftness of the action taken by the city government may be considered as efficiency, the same could be also considered as a red flag because this project with such a huge budget will surely require a careful conceptualization and planning, Juliano said.

CoA Commissioner Grace Pulido-Tan earlier told the sub-committee it would conduct a special audit on the building after the Senate started investigating allegations that it is overpriced.

Juliano said that under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, the city is required to conduct a detailed engineering, including survey, site investigation, soils and foundation investigation, construction materials investigation, preparation of design plans, preparation of technical specifications, preparation of quantity and cost estimates, preparation of program of work, and proposed construction schedule.

According to Juliano, the procurement process for the contract of architectural and engineering services for the parking building started on November 12, 2007 or only four days after the passage of a supplemental budget that was the source of funding for the project.

On that date, City Engineer Nelson Morales requested for a negotiated contract with the Makati Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) justifying that the negotiation should be based on the unique experience and expertise of the consultant and the time constraint of a normal bidding procedure.

Two days later, the BAC, on November 14, 2007, found merit and approved Morales request for a negotiated procurement instead of a public bidding.

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Makati building improper CoA