WB witnesses link FG to bid rigging!

[Zeus]

WB witnesses link FG to bid rigging

By Aries C. Rufo, abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak | 02/03/2009 11:20 AM

It was a rude baptism of fire for the Japanese contractor. Right before him, “(They) first discussed bribes. They had a rough approach.” From that meeting, it was impressed on him that “(bribe) money was important to do business in the Philippines.”

This was how the Japanese contractor described his meeting with First Gentleman Miguel “Mike” Arroyo and a former senator to World Bank
investigators who looked into alleged collusion and rigging in the Bank's funded road projects.

On another occasion, the Japanese executive met the former senator and “it had been made clear to him that there would be no business in the Philippines without paying money,” the WB report, as prepared by its Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) unit, noted. He was also told “that money would have to be paid as high up as the president, senior government officials and politicians in order to do any further business in the country."

The Japanese contractor, however, had no direct contact with the President.

The report further added: “To win a contract, it would also be necessary to pay the head of the bureau and politicians several million yen.”

We obtained parts of the World Bank report but we are not disclosing the name of the Japanese contractor and other witnesses. The Japanese contractor has since left the country.

The Japanese contractor was among those interviewed by the INT in connection with its probe on bid rigging. His firm purportedly participated in two bid packages, which were later confirmed to be false. In fact, the company denied placing any bid and that the signatures of the company president were forged.

It was the only direct testimony in the WB inquiry alluding to the First Gentleman’s possible link to bid rigging controversy that has led to the blacklisting of seven firms and one individual for alleged collusion in WB funded road projects worth $33 million. Three other interviewees gave testimonial evidence that indirectly linked Mr. Arroyo to bid manipulation.

Other witnesses

One of them, a local contractor, said Mr. Arroyo was “behind” Eduardo de Luna, owner and proprietor of E.C. de Luna Construction Corp, one of the blacklisted firms. De Luna, the local contractor said, acts as the intermediary between contractors and politicians for the bid fixing.

This bolsters the allegations of Senator Panfilo Lacson that de Luna had close ties with Mr. Arroyo, as evidenced by de Luna’s frequent visits to the LTA building in Makati where the First Gentleman holds office.

Based on Mr. Arroyo’s appointments book for 2002, which Lacson produced during a Senate inquiry, de Luna met with Mr. Arroyo 17 times. We checked this out (Newsbreak has a copy of the First Gentleman's 2002 journal) to be accurate.

De Luna said he can only recall meeting the First Gentleman three times. Palace officials have downplayed the allegations as baseless.

Another interviewee, a foreign contractor, said he was told “to form a relationship” with de Luna if he is to bag any project. De Luna, the interviewee was told, has “connections” to Mr. Arroyo.

The interviewee said his predecessor had admitted engaging in “arrangements” with high-ranking government officials and government contractors in bid fixing. “(He) said he is unwilling to participate in such arrangement, and therefore (the firm) has no hope of winning Bank funded contracts,” the WB report noted.

Still, another interviewee, a former government official with personal knowledge of the bidding process in the Department of Public Works and Highways, said de Luna, described as one of the primary “facilitators” in bid manipulation, is “close” to Mr. Arroyo and is known to be his “go-between” in foreign-assisted projects.

In the WB report, the interviewees did not say if Mr. Arroyo received any kickbacks from the rigged projects. Yet, it appeared clear to them that de Luna had the First Gentleman’s backing. It was not clear if the WB sought Mr. Arroyo’s side.

For his part, de Luna said in a statement prepared by his counsel, Libra Law, that the World Bank "denied him the right to a formal hearing."

Other officials, too

The interviewees also tagged government officials and lawmakers who are on the take but the WB withheld their names in its findings. Aside from E.C de Luna Corp, which was debarred indefinitely, other firms sanctioned were China Road and Bridge Corp (debarred for eight years); China State Construction Corp and China Wu Yi Corp (both debarred for six years); China Geo-Engineering Corp (debarred for five years) and Cavite Ideal International Construction and Development Corp. and CM Pancho Construction Inc (debarred for four years).

Mr. Arroyo has been linked before to alleged anomalous government deals and projects, the last controversy of which was the botched $329 million broadband deal with China’s ZTE.

Mr. Arroyo supposedly demanded kickbacks from the project, which was eventually dropped by the government.

as of 02/03/2009 12:41 PM

First Gentleman na naman

[Autobeat]

Somehow I don't feel surprised. If FG is an honest man, then he should have signed the bank waiver to allow Congress, a few years back, to check on his international bank accounts for possible undeclared and corruption sourced wealth.

[alwayz_yummy]

favotire term: "di ko siya kilala..." "di ko na maalala"

[Gumusut_Amige]

favotire term: "di ko siya kilala..." "di ko na maalala"

selective amnesia... ito naman ang term na ginagamit ng oposisyon

[ghosthunter]

It might be time to call a joint meeting of the Senate, Congress, Representatives, Vice President, President and all their aides and alalays into a single venue....


And then detonate a single low yield nuclear warhead right in the middle of it all enough to vaporize everyone at ground zero and nearby as well.

[chua_riwap]

it might be time to call a joint meeting of the senate, congress, representatives, vice president, president and all their aides and alalays into a single venue....

And then detonate a single low yield nuclear warhead right in the middle of it all enough to vaporize everyone at ground zero and nearby as well.

+ 10, 000,000!

[chua_riwap]

First Gentleman na naman?

Lahat atang scandal sabit ito si Fat Boy......

*** scandal (video) meron ba?

[marg]

*** scandal (video) meron ba?

Kung si Gloria lang sa video, wag na lang.

[Lucius]

Lahat atang scandal sabit ito si Fat Boy......

*** scandal (video) meron ba?

Search mo JOSE PIDAL "pinedal" scandal

[chua_riwap]

Kung si Gloria lang sa video, wag na lang.

Oo....masagwa nga!

[j_avonni]

Oo....masagwa nga!

Parang bulugan at biik!


:coffee: [SIZE="1"]4153[/SIZE]

[Hanren]

It might be time to call a joint meeting of the Senate, Congress, Representatives, Vice President, President and all their aides and alalays into a single venue....


And then detonate a single low yield nuclear warhead right in the middle of it all enough to vaporize everyone at ground zero and nearby as well.

+1

Pasama na rin yung mga contractors at mga ibang bizmen na kakuntsaba nila.

Dapat pati kaluluwa nila masunog na rin...

[oliver1013]

Ang nakakainis hindi yung corruption(normal yun),,kundi yung paraan, hindi malinis laging may leak...

[jansky]

My Mother told me that if Marcos still the president Philippine is better today

[ghosthunter]

My Mother told me that if Marcos still the president Philippine is better today

Marcos knew how to moderate the greed.

[shadow]

dati opposition nagsasabi na, sinasabi ng Malacanang nagiimbento lang, ano kaya ang masasabi nila na World Bank na ang nagsabing corrupt si FG?

so nagsisinungaling din ang WB?

[Galactus]

Dapat talaga sa baboy na to ipakain sa pating. Lintek, muntik na ngang mamatay, tuloy pa rin ang kurakot.

Dapat talaga French Revolution style coup d'etat. Then behead all those corrupt politicians in public, then spit and piss on their carcasses (ala Benito Mussolini, although he wasn't beheaded). History will not be on their side.

[ab_initio]

Ang nakakainis hindi yung corruption(normal yun),,kundi yung paraan, hindi malinis laging may leak...

did i get you right, Sir? kelan po naging normal ang corruption?

[ghosthunter]

Dapat talaga sa baboy na to ipakain sa pating. Lintek, muntik na ngang mamatay, tuloy pa rin ang kurakot.

Dapat talaga French Revolution style coup d'etat. Then behead all those corrupt politicians in public, then spit and piss on their carcasses (ala Benito Mussolini, although he wasn't beheaded). History will not be on their side.

Pinoys tend to be too soft to be revolutionaries. Too much into "forgiveness" and "understanding" hence our current political & financial blackhole.

We should just follow the lead of China. Corrupt government officials should be executed via firing squad right after they are convicted. Any officials suspected of corruption is automatically suspended from his government duties until the matter is cleared.

No need to spend millions on a gas chamber. Just a rifle round fired through each of a line of soldiers would be cost effective. You can even send the cost of the bullets to the family of the corrupt official as well.

[swordsman]

It might be time to call a joint meeting of the Senate, Congress, Representatives, Vice President, President and all their aides and alalays into a single venue....


And then detonate a single low yield nuclear warhead right in the middle of it all enough to vaporize everyone at ground zero and nearby as well.

Hah! Wish ko lang. Kahit si FG lang okay na, for the meantime, pang-sample sa iba pang corrupt. Problem is, there seems to be no one fed up enough to pull a trigger from a couple hundred yards.