MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has denied the claim of DM Consunji, Incorporated (DMCI) and R-II Builders, Incorporated against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in relation to a botched sanitary landfill project in Antique, citing lack of merit.
“Petitioners failed to submit supporting documents such accomplishment report, trip tickets, billing statements, and other documents showing partial performance of contract and breakdown of expenses incurred,” the COA en banc said in its decision.
The claimants said that the amount of P42,132,740.17 represented the expenses that they incurred in the partial execution of a contract to develop, operate, and maintain an interim waste management facility (IWMF) for the National Capital Region during the Joseph Estrada administration.
Following the closure of the San Mateo Landfill on December 31, 2000, there was a project for a new sanitary landfill with a 25-year lifespan but Rizal residents opposed it.
This gave rise to an IWMF to be operational for two years.
DMCI and R-II Builders formed an unincorporated joint venture (JV) to bid for the project. They proposed a sanitary landfill in Semirara Island in Antique. This entailed opening a temporary transfer station in Pier 18 in Tondo, Manila, that can handle 2,000 tons of waste on a daily basis.
Barges will transport the garbage to a pre-arranged site in the northernmost part of Semirara Island.
The MMDA declared the joint venture as the winning bidder and issued a Notice of Award to the group on December 21, 2000.
Aside from being required to submit a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), then-president Estrada also said that the project must secure prior approval from the Office of the President (OP).
The claimants said that they did preparatory work for the transfer to the station in Tondo as well as the tipping site in Semirara in early January 2001. Meanwhile, a regional trial court in Antique issued injunction orders against the joint venture’s continued operations.
Estrada stepped down from office on January 20, 2001, following widespread calls for him to resign amid plunder allegations against him.
The two companies sought payment from the MMDA for the site development in Tondo and in Semirara, reimbursement for predevelopment expenses, barging operations expenses, and hauling, mobilization, and demobilization expenses.
The MMDA rejected the claim, citing the joint venture’s failure to secure OP approval for the project, among other points. MMDA legal consultant Vincent Tagoc also noted that over 5,000 tons of garbage had to be brought back to Manila and unloaded from the barge.
“This Commission finds the petition for money claim not meritorious. It cannot be concluded whether the government would actually be unjustly enriched at the expense of the JV since petitioners failed to present evidence to show that benefit has been inured to the government,” the COA en banc said. – Rappler.com