FROM HOW IT looks, another political appointee under the previous administration will be made face the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) for the construction of a building in Bukidnon.
The political appointee referred to is former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Martin Andanar, who is neither an engineer nor connected to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Citing documents obtained from the Commission on Audit (COA), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian flagged an ongoing construction of a “training building” in Bukidnon.
According to Gatchalian, PCO has no business going into construction, even as he cited the purpose for which the PCO (formerly referred to as Office of the Press Secretary) was created.
Under its mandate, the PCO is tasked “to develop and manage the strategic communications of the President and the Administration to ensure a whole-of-government approach through the implementation of unified messaging.”
COA 2024 REPORT
Citing COA 2024 report on the PCO, Gatchalian said the agency contracted the DPWH in 2019 for the construction of the Government Communication Academy in Bukidnon (Phase II) worth P45.7 million.
The senator however finds it rather unusual for COA to find a similar project but with an amount so much bigger than what has been stipulated in the 2019 contract.
COA’s 2020 to 2023 report listed a similar project amounting to P79 million. The facility has no budget allocation for 2026, as funds have already been allotted for the completion of the remaining 10% of construction, according to Gatchalian.
“Bakit may communications office ang PCO sa Bukidnon?” a visibly pissed off senator asked.
PCO RESPONDS
For his part, PCO Secretary Dave Gomez, who has yet even breached his first 100 days in office, said, “I completely agree with Sen. Gatchalian’s opinion.”
“The previous administration should have not engaged in such a public works project that falls outside our core responsibility,” Gomez averred.
The PCO earlier said the project, initiated under the Duterte administration, was originally intended as a training center for communication offices under Malacañang and its attached agencies.
Andanar, who was the PCO secretary when it contracted the DPWH for the project in 2019, has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.
Gatchalian said, “We’ve already spent P124 million, and the project is 90% complete. If we don’t finish this, it becomes a white elephant.”
NO USE TO PCO
In what looks more like a “damage control,” PCO hinted at donating the facility to the Northern Bukidnon State College as soon as the structure is finally completed.
“The building’s donation to the Northern Bukidnon State College is already being finalized. Maraming mga mag-aaral sa atin state college sa Bukidnon ang makikinabang dito,” Gomez said.
