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| Vol. XX No. 41 |
December 20, 2000 |
Virac, Catanduanes |
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The Catanduanes Tribune Rawis, Virac Catanduanes, Philippines - 5001 Tel. No.: (052) 811-1267 or 811-2640 Fax No.: (052) 811-1267 E-mail:
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Publisher-Editor Edwin A. Gianan |
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Advertising- Circulation Manager Simeon G. Cueno |
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Web Master: Calgary, Canada |
Briefly Yours
By
Joel Son Panti
Goodbye,
Remelito…
Soon
people will no longer see giant streamers of Gov. Sanchez displayed along
or accross national roads welcoming one and all "maogmang kapistahan
saindo gabos".
Not
only streamers but billboards and advertisements as well.That is, if D.E.
Mariano Saret will implement DPWH Department Order No. 217 s. 2000 issued
by Sec. Gregorio Vigilar last month banning the above from national roads.
Question:
Are the roads from the airport to the highway and that strip of road from
the seaport to the Virac fountain a national road? If they are, then soon
the text written on the arches, including the name of the governor, will
soon disappear!
Talagang
killjoy ang DPWH. Or was Sec. Vigilar influenced by Saret in order to get
even with the governor?
Remember,
Saret and the entire DPWH people were kicked out of the Capitol building
by Gov. Sanchez, complete with a platoon of heavily armed men!
Remember,
too, that Gov. Sanchez's newspaper had been hitting the local DPWH real
black and blue!
Of
course, unlike the governor, Engr. Saret is not a vindictive man.
As
a matter of fact, when interviewed by broadcast and print journalists last
week, DE Saret said he will pray hard "baka lumambot ang puso ni
governor" and in the spirit of the Yuletide Season. He said he may
even pay the governor a courtesy call and personally greet him a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Such
a humility is worth emulating.
Some
contractors have been cursing some members of Task Force Quarry for "ga
hagad nin lagay na P2,500 sa lambang proyekto masqui saday."
The
contractor's claim that the grease money is for the boss "ta ma-aqui
na si misis." But sources say that the wife of the head of Task Force
Quarry is working in Manila and is not pregnant.
Or
it may be possible that these crooks and vultures are using the name of
their boss to enrich themselves without their boss knowing it. That's
name-dropping!
Our
good friend Col. Dominguez should investigate and kick out the guilty.
The
Land Transportation Office and the local traffic cops should teach some
tricycle drivers real hard lessons.
Many
of them violate traffic laws, including the ordinance on traffic here in
Virac. Many are arrogant. And above all, many exact illegal fares. These
are the usual complaints of commuters.
The
LTO, before giving these road maniacs some licenses, should educate them
thoroughly. Perhaps it would be wise to issue to them a handbook on basic
traffic laws.
The
trouble with the LTO is basta marunong nang magdrive, binibigyan na kaagad
ng license.
We
received a copy of DPWH District engineer Mariano P. Saret's answer to the
alleged charges hurled against his office by Gov. Sanchez's newspaper.
He
answered the charges point by point, from issue no. 1 to No. 10. to
confirm the figures and verify some facts, we decided to see him in his
office.
From
all the documents presented to us by Engr. Saret, plus those we gathered
from other sources, it becomes very apparent that the charges were bloated
and magnified out of proportion.
Some
charges, like the rehab of Porot-San Isidro road in Pandan, were the
products of misappreciation of facts and figures. Or simply, the
non-understanding of some construction or engineering codes.
In
short, there was not a single ghost project as charged by Sanchez's
newspaper. "An ibang projects puedeng iguang defects, pero mayo
caming ghost project," Saret told the mediamen.
What
is a ghost project? A ghost project is a non-existing project,
non-existing in fact and in truth but the funds for the same has already
been collected or is being collected.
In
short, the alleged project exists only on papers but not in reality. And
the fund already released and collected or pocketed by whoever are or is
the crook.
Based
on our perusal of the documents presented to us by DE Saret, and our oral
interview with him and some engineers, the DPWH has no single ghost
project as charged.
How
could a ghost project be consummated?
Every
civil engineer will tell you that when a certain project is completed, a
Certificate of Completion and Turnover for Custody is prepared and signed
by the DPWH project engineer, the contractor, the COA resident auditor and
the district engineer.
There
are four signatories. Together with this certificate of completion, an
Acknowledgement of Turnover and Custody document is signed by the barangay
captain, his secretary or any member of the barangay council as witness
where the project is located. There are two signatories.
During
the turnover or immediately after the turnover, some pictures are taken of
the finished or completed project which will be used as annexes in the
processing of the voucher for payment of the project.
Now,
in order to consummate a ghost project, all the six major signatories,
from the project engineer down to the barangay captain, must connive among
each other.
Plus,
a fake picture has to be taken or presented in order to be able to collect
the money. In short, many people, not only the signatories to all
documents, will know about it.
Question:
Are these signatories to the completion of the project willing and ready
to lose their faces?
Finally,
DILG Sec. Fred Lim intervened.
And
finally, too, PBM Jenor Sollegue has been vindicated. Sec. Lim ordered the
SP, thru the presiding officer, to recognize Sollegue as SK Provincial
Federation president and ex-officio member "vice Remelito
Cabrera".
In
his Dec. 8 order, Sec. Lim concurred with the decision of SK National
Executive Board. Perhaps, mababawasan ng kunti ang infighting sa SP.
Goodbye, Remelito. Goodbye, Hector.
