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Bullying rocks bidding of flood control project in Bicol

Posted on October 14, 2013

By Manilyn Ugalde

LEGAZPI CITY, (PNA) – Bullying of a contractor by a fellow bidder rocked the public bidding of a P9.6-million flood control project in the third district of Albay conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Bicol.

According to a police blotter report obtained by the PNA on Monday, a representative of a Manila-based construction firm complained that he submitted their bid documents to participate in the P9.6-million flood control project in Libon, Albay only to be threatened, bullied and driven away from the DPWH office by the suspect.

Complainant Edwin Rebaya Balatucan, 31, representing AARCON Construction, said he hurriedly left, cowering in fear, after his bid documents were allegedly forcibly taken out of the chained and padlocked bid box, according to the report.

Balatucan said he immediately had the incident recorded in the police blotter and sent a copy of the report, with an accompanying letter, to President Aquino on Friday.

DPWH regional director Danilo Dequito has ordered an investigation of the incident.

According to documents obtained by the PNA, the incident took place at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Pre-Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) room of the Albay 3rd District Engineering Office in Ligao City, allegedly involving one Remus Relato of Elkan Construction.

Relato, the complaint said, allegedly claimed to be an employee of a congressman and a cousin of a police general.

The police report identified Rep. Fernando Gonzalez (Albay, 3rd district) and Chief Supt. Henry Ranola, said to be the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group deputy director, as the persons alluded to by the complainant.

Contacted for comment, and for his action about the reported scandal at the DPWH under his congressional district, Gonzalez denied he has an employee named Remus Relato.

He said he would not interfere in his district engineering, saying it was an office matter.

Relato, according to a source, is among the close political leaders of the congressman. He cannot be contacted for comment.

A known anti-graft advocate against DPWH abuses, it was Gonzalez who exposed the controversial P374-million Albay calamity fund projects in December 2011 after the DPWH regional office reportedly implemented the funds hastily through negotiated contracts in an effort to raise P100 million allegedly for a Malacañang-based cabinet member.

Gonzalez claimed that the project, which was ordered investigated by the President, involved rush bidding but took place very much after the calamity justification period — in complete violation of the procurement reformed act.

Last Friday, complainant Balatucan told Bombo Radio station here in an interview that he was allegedly confronted by Relato and offered him P60,000 to withdraw his bid documents but he refused.

The complaint said Relato’s Elkan Construction was not even among the 13 contractors who dropped the bids, hinting that the offensive and aggressive Relato was using a dummy license.

The complaint, which was received by the Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Section of the Albay Provincial Police Office here, identified the three DPWH engineers linked to the bidding scandal and who allegedly forcibly dismantled the padlocked box as Edgardo Gorospe, Jilson Padilla, and one Mario Matamorosa.

The engineers, the report said, allegedly claimed their actions was ordered by lawyer Oliver Rodulfo, the DPWH regional legal officer and concurrent Albay 3rd district engineering administrative officer.

In a text message to the media, Rodulfo would not answer the question on his alleged order to forcibly remove AARCON’s bid documents from the drop box other than saying he was still studying the case.

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