House facelift to cost taxpayers P1B; source of funds remains a puzzle
Text and photos by TITA C. VALDERAMA, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
The 14th Congress will open its second regular session on Monday with a spit-polished image, amid massive renovation efforts for the Marcos-era Batasang Pambansa building, home to the House of Representatives.
Largely cosmetic, the frenzied makeover has secured an initial funding of P200 million from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but once completed will cost taxpayers almost a billion pesos.
About 400 laborers worked round the clock in the last six weeks to rush the prettified House for Arroyo's eighth state of the nation address on Monday.
To be sure, there is no specific funding in the 2008 budget for the House renovation project launched by Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, a rabid Arroyo ally and House Speaker of just six months.
The reconstruction binge started with just the need to repair the canopy of the South Wing lobby that was damaged by a powerful bomb blast in November 2007. The initial bill: P9.7 million sourced from funds of the House in February 2008.
In May, Nograles requested and days later secured “assistance from PGMA" in the amount of P200 million to cover the repair, repainting, upgrade, and landscaping of the main and North Wing buildings of the House.
No SARO?
Where Arroyo sourced the money, even the leaders of the House are not sure. Whether the amount is covered by a Special Allocation Release Order (SARO), as it should be under the procurement law, is not clear.
A senior budget official says the agency had not issued a SARO for the House, but House officials said the P200 million is covered by a SARO although they do not know its funding source.
Artemio Adasa Jr., deputy secretary general for operations and chair of the House Bids and Awards Committee, says the beautification project has two messages: the Nograles House enjoys Arroyo's full support and represents “new leadership, new face, new radiance."
“The decision to renovate was done in February... but we anticipated na kung may pera mag-extend, nagkataon, at may target tayong SONA. Instead of gloomy because of the bombing, now we have a vibrant Congress," Adasa adds.
More, more, more
Already the House had disbursed P99.7 million for the the initial structural repair work but wants to spend more this year, even without full appropriations cover:
The House engineering department is already finalizing the general services request for Phase 2 of the project that will cost P110 million.
A new four-storey South Wing annex building will rise at a cost of P300 million, courtesy of the Department of Public Works and Highways. (The project was started under Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr, Nograles's predecessor.)
Two units of airconditioned buses with 55-seat capacity acquired in April 2008 at P5.8 million each, or P11.6 million in all.
Eight laptop units will be awarded in August at a cost of P1.2 million, or for a curiously expensive price of P151,950 per unit.
About 30 public comfort rooms worth up to P700,000 each, or at least P200 million in all had been reconstructed.
A total of 135 units of fire extinguishers, including 100 units with 20-pound capacity worth P20,720 each, inclusive of 12 percent value-added tax, or over P2 million had been purchased.
A P15-million biometric electronic voting system for members of the House to be supported by the “e-government fund" being managed by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the Office of the President.
House facelift to cost taxpayers P1B; source of funds remains a puzzle
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