Abaya says he has no role in contractor screening
By Tonette Orejas -- Inquirer
CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE—Bases Conversion Development Authority president Narciso Abaya on Saturday denied he endorsed any sub-contractors of the P21-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project (SCTEP).
Abaya, who is also the chief executive officer of the BCDA, made the denial in reaction to a statement by Antonio Rex Chan, the agency’s vice president for operations and program director of the SCTEP, a Japanese-funded road project.
In seeking to clear himself from allegations he received between P1 million and P5 million from companies wanting to get sub-contracts, Chan on Aug. 29 told the Inquirer that he did not endorse local contractors unless these were endorsed by congressmen and mayors.
“I did not endorse anyone without the endorsement of my boss,” he later added in the phone interview.
Chan further claimed having no hand in negotiations, pointing out that the Japanese consortiums were the ones that determined the sub-contractors based on their capabilities.
“So how can I ask something from those fellows?” he said.
While Abaya agreed with Chan’s information that the selection of sub-contractors rested solely on the Kajima, Obayashi, JFE Engineering and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Joint Venture and the Hazama, Taisei and Nippon Steel Joint Venture, he clarified the process that transpired before he joined the BCDA in November 2004.
The contract, whose loan signing date was on Sept. 14, 2001, started in April 2005 under Abaya’s helm.
Firstly, Abaya said, the contract was between the BCDA and the Japanese consortiums. “They are the ones that entered into contracts with the sub-contractors, not us,” he said. Asked how many these were, he replied, “they are so many, hundreds perhaps.”
At the level of the BCDA, he said the agency created a committee within the SCTEP project management office that screened the applicants for sub-contract work.
“Any sub-contractor will have to be deliberated upon by that committee to make sure there are no fly-by-night (companies) among them,” he said.
The list of qualified contractors and the complete set of documents establishing their capabilities for the work were then submitted to Chan who, in turn, forwarded this to the BCDA president’s office.
From that level, the documents were then sent to the Japanese contractors for final approval.
According to Abaya, some sub-contractors went directly to the contractors but these were referred to the committee for processing.
“Ultimately, the responsibility (to choose the sub-contractors) was on the Japanese contractors. Hindi kami nakikialam,” he said.
“We are not supposed to meddle but being the owner of the project, our job was to make sure there would be no fly-by-night sub-contractors.”
CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE—Bases Conversion Development Authority president Narciso Abaya on Saturday denied he endorsed any sub-contractors of the P21-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project (SCTEP).
Abaya, who is also the chief executive officer of the BCDA, made the denial in reaction to a statement by Antonio Rex Chan, the agency’s vice president for operations and program director of the SCTEP, a Japanese-funded road project.
In seeking to clear himself from allegations he received between P1 million and P5 million from companies wanting to get sub-contracts, Chan on Aug. 29 told the Inquirer that he did not endorse local contractors unless these were endorsed by congressmen and mayors.
“I did not endorse anyone without the endorsement of my boss,” he later added in the phone interview.
Chan further claimed having no hand in negotiations, pointing out that the Japanese consortiums were the ones that determined the sub-contractors based on their capabilities.
“So how can I ask something from those fellows?” he said.
While Abaya agreed with Chan’s information that the selection of sub-contractors rested solely on the Kajima, Obayashi, JFE Engineering and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Joint Venture and the Hazama, Taisei and Nippon Steel Joint Venture, he clarified the process that transpired before he joined the BCDA in November 2004.
The contract, whose loan signing date was on Sept. 14, 2001, started in April 2005 under Abaya’s helm.
Firstly, Abaya said, the contract was between the BCDA and the Japanese consortiums. “They are the ones that entered into contracts with the sub-contractors, not us,” he said. Asked how many these were, he replied, “they are so many, hundreds perhaps.”
At the level of the BCDA, he said the agency created a committee within the SCTEP project management office that screened the applicants for sub-contract work.
“Any sub-contractor will have to be deliberated upon by that committee to make sure there are no fly-by-night (companies) among them,” he said.
The list of qualified contractors and the complete set of documents establishing their capabilities for the work were then submitted to Chan who, in turn, forwarded this to the BCDA president’s office.
From that level, the documents were then sent to the Japanese contractors for final approval.
According to Abaya, some sub-contractors went directly to the contractors but these were referred to the committee for processing.
“Ultimately, the responsibility (to choose the sub-contractors) was on the Japanese contractors. Hindi kami nakikialam,” he said.
“We are not supposed to meddle but being the owner of the project, our job was to make sure there would be no fly-by-night sub-contractors.”
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