Capitol Won’t Pay “Illegal Projects”

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III declared he will not pay contractors whose project were not approved by the Provincial Board (PB).

“My decision is not to pay the contractors. There is basis to deny their claims because most of them did not carry the approval of the Provincial Board. Gi-bypass ‘ni,” said Davide.

Davide said all those projects were “illegal” as per the Local Government Code, and if the contractors would sue the Capitol, he said he would file a third-party complaint to force his predecessor, former Governor Gwen Garcia, to answer it.

The governor said the projects, two of which are the provincial hospitals in Danao City and Balamban, were approved by Garcia without legislative approval.

These hospitals were recently shutdown by the contractors after the Capitol has refused to pay its obligations.

“Na-inherit raman gud ni nato. Kita’y pabayron sa ilang mga fault. Kataw-an ta,” Davide said adding that he does not want to get into trouble with the Commission on Audit (COA) if he pays such obligations.

Reportedly, the Capitol has more than P600 million in payables to contractors, a huge portion of it came from projects which did not allegedly pass the PB.

“From the beginning, the contracts entered into were in violation of the Local Government Code. The Local Government Code says any contract entered into by the local government unit requires the approval of the PB or appropriate legislative body,” the governor said.