Allegations of irregularities, including the use of “forged documents,” have rocked the construction of the Panguil Bay Bridge in Northern Mindanao, dragging the current and former secretaries of the Department of Public Works and Highways into the controversy, along with several others.

Complaints for graft and plunder and other cases have been filed against Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan and his predecessor, former secretary and now Senator Mark Villar, over the construction of the 3.17-kilometer bridge connecting Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, and Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

The complaint-affidavit was filed late last year before the Office of the Ombudsman by Dr. John J. Chiong, founder of Task Force Kasanag, a non-government organization working against crimes, illegal drugs and corruption.

In an interview over DAILY TRIBUNE’s online show Straight Talk on Wednesday, Chiong said the project cost surged from P4.9 billion to P7.3 billion — an increase of P2.4 billion from when the project was awarded in November 2019.

“The most alarming aspect of this case is that Kukdong (one of the joint venture partners), through the use of falsified documents, was able to secure a government contract with the DPWH, specifically the Panguil Bay Bridge project,” read the complaint, a copy of which the DAILY TRIBUNE secured.

Also named respondents were Undersecretary Emil Kiram Sadain and more than 20 other DPWH officials and employees.

Korean construction firm Namkwang Engineering & Construction Corporation and its three joint venture partners — the winning bidder — were included as respondents in the complaint.

The four Korean companies were represented by Kim Geun Young, president and CEO; Youn Tai Sek, project manager; and Jae Sung Gang, resident agent.

“On 28 April 2016, the Department of Finance entered into a loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea for an infrastructure-specific loan in the amount of $100,132,000 payable in 60 semi-annual installments for the purpose of financing the construction of a sea-crossing bridge that is the Panguil Bay Bridge Project,” the 16-page complaint read.

Among the project bidders were the Namkwang Kukdong Gumgwang Joint Venture, Coron Construction, and GS Engineering.

“To get an edge on the competition, it appears that NKG JV hired the services of respondent Gimpaya, who was a member of the technical working group of the project bidding committee, to provide NKG JV with confidential information and assure that it will win the bid,” the complaint read.

Being referred to was Anton V. Gimpaya, former project manager of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project under Roads Management Cluster 2 (Multilateral) of the Unified Project Management Office for the DPWH.

“NKG JV would give respondent Gimpaya US$1,000 per week. In addition, NKG JV gave five other members of the TWG P50,000 per month. At these TWG meetings, members lobbied for the bid proposal of NKG JV, effectively propping up the points that NKG JV would be assigned,” the complaint said.

The TWG initially sought to disqualify NKG JV from the bidding due to its submission of a design that differed from the DPWH consultants’ Conceptual Engineering Design or CED. Despite this, the TWG later accepted NKG JV’s submission as substantially compliant with the CED, indicating the efficacy of their approach.

The DPWH consultants’ CED specified the bridge’s construction using a triple shaft column. In contrast, NKG JV’s submission featured a single shaft column, deviating significantly from the CED’s requirements.

Based on the complaint, NKG JV furnished DPWH with evidence demonstrating that the other bidder, Coron, had yet to undertake any sea-crossing projects, thereby violating the bidding requirements.

This revelation allegedly amounted to a material misrepresentation in Coron’s bidding documents, resulting in its disqualification.

Upon the opening of the bid documents, only two bids were said to have been permitted — those of NKG JV and GS Engineering, with NKG JV initially bidding $150,000,000 while GS Engineering proposed to undertake the project for $140,000,000.

The bids allegedly exceeded the approved budget for the contract by more than the allowable increment. As a result, a certain undersecretary, Roberto R. Bernardo, declared a failure of the bid and suggested re-bidding the project.

“However, in a sudden twist of affairs, respondent Secretary Mark Villar issued Special Order No. 147, Series of 2019, dated 22 October 2019, that created a negotiating team for the project that reversed the failure of bid declaration. In this negotiating committee, respondent Undersecretary Sadain was appointed team leader,” the complaint read.

Following the negotiating team’s recommendation and without notice to the lowest bidder — GS Engineering — NKG JV was allowed to modify its bid to P6,409,000,140 or US$125,519,000.

“The Korean contractor used forged documents that were submitted to the DPWH. The contract was signed by former Secretary Villar,” Chiong told DAILY TRIBUNE.

“Other documents like the PCAB [Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board] license were also forged with the help of DPWH employees. The Korean construction firm had paid P1.5 million for it,” Chiong said.

The complaint-affidavit said that on 14 November 2019, the DPWH, represented by respondent Usec. Emil Kiram Sadain signed and issued a Letter of Acceptance for the project to NKG JV.

“On 22 November 2019, a contract was signed between the DPWH and NKG JV. On 14 February 2020, the DPWH issued to NKG JV the notice to proceed,” it read.

The complaint cited headlines of various newspapers and news agencies that said that as of 28 April 2016, the project cost had been declared at P4.9 billion, with the loan proceeds funding P4.2 billion, while the remaining P586 million would be funded through the national budget.

On 4 June 2021, however, an article on pna.gov.ph said the project cost had ballooned to P7.37 billion.

“It was even announced that of the P7.37 billion total project cost, P2.16 billion would be financed by the national government while P5.21 billion was to be financed by the loan proceeds,” the article added.

The bridge project was one of the flagship infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration. Touted as the longest bridge in Mindanao, it was an ambitious project that aimed to enhance connectivity and promote economic growth in the region. (To be continued)