An opposition lawmaker on Friday assailed the government’s bias in favor of Chinese companies in the projects involving the rehabilitation of Marawi City.
Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano found out the alleged government bias in favor of Chinese companies during a briefing for congressmen conducted by the House committee on Muslim Affairs last May 23.
The TFBM selected the Bagong Marawi Consortium to lead the rehabilitation programs and efforts in Marawi City after it submitted an unsolicited proposal. The BMC is composed of five Chinese and three Filipino companies, Alejano said.
“Majority of the companies included in the BMC are Chinese. Two are even state-owned enterprises which mean that state funds of China would be used,” Alejano said, referring to China State and China Geo Engineering Corp.
“Worries on the degree of control that China would have on these projects could not be dismissed especially since the Filipino companies included have no history of contracting big government projects. How can we make sure that the projects will remain Filipino-led and the interests of the Maranaos in particular, will be respected and given prime consideration in the rehabilitation projects given this configuration?” he asked.
Alejano also said that during the briefing, the TFBM could not provide the records and details of the preferred firms to join the BCM and it is not clear yet how the winning contractors will recover their billions of pesos investments.
Similarly, the party-list lawmaker questioned the business record of the Chinese companies.
“The two Chinese state firms were involved in corruption and fraud scandals. In fact, they were once blacklisted by the World Bank and DPWH itself. Though already lifted from the list, China State Engineering continued to get involved in corruption scandals in other countries,” Alejano said.
“Given this record, should it not have caused alarm for TFBM to select the BMC? How can we assure that the Marawi rehabilitation would not be marred by corruption cases in the future with such kind of participating firms?” he said.
Alejano also criticized the lack of detailed planning on the Marawi rehabilitation a year after the siege.
“They have a timeline and grand proposals being presented to the public, but they have not even mapped out where these constructions will be built. Worse, they have not yet consolidated the number of displaced and affected Maranaos. How can we move forward if there is no starting point yet?” Alejano said.
He also questioned the procurement rules being observed in the Marawi rehabilitation.
The TFBM said that the National Housing Authority does not need to comply with the provisions of RA 9184 for the procurement related to the Marawi rehabilitation and would instead follow the Executive Order 49 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Does this mean that a law, in this case RA 9184, is being superseded by a mere executive order?” he asked.
“Given the still ambiguous plan and issues on the participating firms, I call on the Duterte administration to hasten the rehabilitation of Marawi City,” Alejano said.
Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon called on his colleagues to ensure that a long-term development effort will be implemented in Marawi City to enable the people to live with dignity and progress.
“Today, I therefore rise to ask my colleagues to approve a resolution that would address first, the recovery efforts that must be exercised in Marawi City and to make sure that there is a long-term development effort that would allow people to live with dignity and progress in Marawi,” Gordon said in his privilege speech.
He also noted that there are people who are still hungry in Marawi – food supplies are still scarce and livelihood has not been adequately provided for.
Gordon added that many people are in diaspora, so to speak, living with their families outside of Marawi, or for that matter trying to find ways to have ends meet.
“It is important that the Senate, therefore, lends its talents and skills into trying and influencing policy to make sure that we can further speed up the recovery of Marawi and hopefully make something better than what was before, including, perhaps, the development of Lake Lanao which can be the source of mass livelihood,” the senator said.
Gordon also called on his colleagues to join him in honoring the soldiers, like 1st Lt. Kent Fagyan who sacrificed life and limb to protect the country’s sovereignty.
“At the same time honor the sacrifices of those who died, those who were wounded, those who are still in need of support from our country and I didn’t say government because we need to support each other irrespective of what our ethnicity or our ethnic backgrounds are,” he said.
“We don’t have a tradition of victory in this country. We celebrate mostly our defeats,” said Gordon.
“But history shows that all these little acts when you put them all together, it creates a ripple of hope or many ripples that can create a wave of patriotism in this country that is so important. “
He observed that people for granted our freedom. Not just at times, but most of the time, we tend to abuse our democratic privileges and rights because we don’t know how it is to defend our country,” the senator said.
In another development, the New Zealand government is coursing an P18-million humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Marawi conflict, through the World Food Programme.
The announcement was made by New Zealand Ambassador David Strachan on Thursday, following the first year anniversary of the siege on Wednesday (May 23).
“New Zealand recognizes the magnitude of the challenges confronting the authorities in the Philippines and is committed to doing what it can to supplement the efforts of the central and local government to help the displaced persons in Marawi,” the envoy said in a statement.
President Duterte had imposed martial law for the entire Mindanao and cut his trip short in Russia on May 23 last year to supervise government efforts in quelling the Islamic State-inspired Maute group in Marawi City.
The city had been witness to numerous ground and air assaults, leaving large parts of the town destroyed and thousands of people displaced.
According to international child rights organization Save the Children, at least 23,000 families of the more than 350,000 displaced persons in Marawi have been able to return to their homes a year after the conflict.