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BACOLOD, Philippines – A P300-million tourism project package billed as a transformation of two of Bacolod’s most prominent public spaces, one of them a nearly century-old plaza, was supposed to put the city on display for its biggest festival. Instead, it has put the project itself on display, with unfinished work, reported defects and mounting questions over how it was being done.
The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) projects – a P220-million rehabilitation of the giant fountain at the Bacolod City Government Center and an P80-million redevelopment of the public plaza – was supposedly completed in August, in time for the MassKara Festival from October 1 to 19.
Instead, both projects remained unfinished as the festival got underway, prompting Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya to publicly criticize the work and say he would not sign acceptance documents unless he was satisfied with the results.
In a letter to TIEZA Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid, Gasataya said he was “disheartened” by what he saw at the public plaza and listed problems including drainage failures, surface ponding, unsecured fountain nozzles, missing float valves, non-functional lighting, unfinished installations and protruding or deteriorated manholes.
During a visit to the plaza, Gasataya said he observed water pooling around the newly installed centerpiece fountain when it was switched on. He said the fountain’s control sequence had yet to be demonstrated and that the defects he observed constituted safety hazards requiring attention.
Gasataya asked Lapid to intervene and compel the contractor to undertake the necessary corrective work.
He said any redevelopment of the plaza must meet high standards of safety, functionality and aesthetics, describing the site as a central landmark and the traditional heart of Bacolod’s civic gatherings.
The absence of grass in parts of the plaza also irked Gasataya during his inspection.
“Pagsugod n’yo ubra, may hilamon pa ang plaza. Anay manugtapos na kamo, wala na hilamon,” he told project engineers.
(When you started working, the plaza still had grass. Now that you are about to finish, there is no more grass.)
Rappler sought comment from Lapid. Instead, his media officer, Ronnie Calumpita, said they would assess the project first.
The project’s troubled appearance has also drawn criticism from House Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Representative Albee Benitez, the former Bacolod mayor whose administration oversaw the start of the works.
Works that began during the mayorship of Benitez had been expected to be completed by the end of August.
Benitez, who checked the plaza on Wednesday, September 30, said the result was not what had been discussed or proposed.
“Indi amo ni ang aton gin-istoryahan. La-in ang inyo ginpropose. La-in ang outcome,” said Benitez, addressing TIEZA.
(This was not what we talked about. This is not what you proposed. The outcome is different.)
Benitez was referring to the plaza designs that he said had been agreed upon with TIEZA and the contractor. He said any deviation from the original proposal should be explained and addressed with accountability.
Protected by law
There are questions on whether the redevelopment of the Bacolod Public Plaza complied with rules protecting the historic site.
Former Bacolod councilor Ann Marie Palermo, one of the authors of a 2015 city ordinance declaring the plaza a national historical landmark, called on Benitez and others involved in the redevelopment to produce clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
Palermo said she was shocked to see images showing work on the plaza floor to make way for a dancing fountain in front of the bandstand. She also questioned the installation of white spheres at the site.
City Ordinance 08-15-731, which was approved and signed by Gasataya when he was acting mayor in 2015, states that no structures or changes to existing structures within the plaza may be made without the express approval of the NHCP.
Palermo cited the National Cultural Heritage Act which provides legal protection for structures that qualify as important cultural properties (ICPs) and requires prior written approval for certain alterations or demolitions.
Under the law, ICPs, including structures at least 50 years old, cannot be altered or demolished without prior written approval from the NHCP.
The Bacolod Public Plaza will mark its 100th anniversary next year, Palermo said.
“Did the National Historical Commission grant prior written permission for changes or renovations at the Bacolod Public Plaza?” she asked.
Incidentally, the project is not the first controversy in Bacolod during Benitez’s term as mayor involving changes to culturally significant sites. Benitez and other city officials are also facing complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman over the demolition and rebuilding of the old city hall and the Fountain of Justice at the corner of Araneta and Luzuriaga streets.
Former city executive assistant Ernesto Pineda filed the complaints, which allege graft, procurement violations, technical malversation and the unauthorized demolition of the structures without clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
Pineda said the old city hall and Fountain of Justice were already considered important cultural properties (ICPs). The complaints remain pending before the Ombudsman.
Completion date?
The projects were awarded to Amigo Entertainment Technologies Incorporated (AETI), a company that specializes in audio, video, lighting and special-effects system integration.
Asked for copies of the blueprints, a female AETI staff member who declined to be identified said on Friday, October 2, that the documents were kept at the company’s head office in Taguig City.
She said AETI had the blueprints for the projects but could not provide a copy in Bacolod.
She also said the features visible at the Bacolod City Government Center grounds and public plaza, including the controversial white spheres scattered around the plaza, were included in the blueprints.
The assertion is significant because Benitez has said the finished project differs from what was originally proposed, while the spheres have themselves become a point of contention over the plaza’s design.
City Legal Officer Karol Joseph Chiu told Rappler on Monday, October 5, that the City Engineer’s Office has the blueprints for the two projects. He said what city hall does not have are the Bills of Quantities (BOQ).
“We have been asking TIEZA for the missing BOQ so we can have a clearer view of the projects, but so far, to no avail,” Chiu said.
A BOQ basically shows what work needs to be done on a project, how much of it is needed and how much it is expected to cost. It helps contractors prepare their bids and, once the contract is awarded, is used to determine how much the contractor should be paid for the work completed. It also breaks the project down into specific items so it is clear what work is being done, where it will be done and what it will cost.
The AETI staff member could not give a firm date for completion of the two projects.
“Only our bosses can speak on behalf of our company and status of work,” she said.
AETI is also the contractor for an P80-million aesthetic lighting project for the San Juanico Bridge in Samar and Leyte. Among its other projects is the aesthetic lighting of the Mount Samat Giant Cross in Pilar, Bataan. – Rappler.com
