Iba, Zambaes – Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has suspended three major infrastructure projects in the province after their contractors were implicated in controversies involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its alleged illegal projects.
According to Engr. Domingo Mariano, consultant on Engineering and Infrastructure Development, after the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) revoked the licenses of the contractors on September 3, Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. promptly issued orders to cancel their contracts for the province’s projects.
Mariano expained, the provincial government has terminated the contracts and halted construction of the New Zambales Capitol Building awarded to St. Gerald Construction Gen. Contractor and Development Corp., A five story building worth P500 milion pesos which 78.19 percent complete.
The second halted project is the which awarded also to Sports Complex Track and Football Stadium St. Gerald Construction Gen. Contractor and Development Corp. worth P500 milion pesos , and the third suspended project is the President Magsaysay Memorial Hospital worth P400 milion pesos awarded to Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corp., all located in the capital town of Iba.
He added that a technical review is now underway for the affected projects in Zambales, which will be forwarded to the Commission on Audit (COA) to establish the guidelines for resuming the unfinished works.
He explained that while the controversy involving the contractor stemmed from the national level and led to the cancellation of St. Gerard Construction’s accreditation, there have been no issues with the quality of their work in Zambales. “Their output follows the plans and specifications, and you can see that the projects are properly done,” Mariano said.
Mariano clarified that the suspended projects still show “positive slippage,” meaning their progress has gone beyond the planned schedule.