I have nothing to hide – Frank

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Franklin Drilon welcomed yesterday an investigation by his colleagues on the allegedly overpriced Iloilo Convention Center (ICC).

“I have nothing to hide,” Drilon declared.

He brushed aside anew allegations of impropriety in the ICC project funded with his pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), insisting that he had no participation in any of the processes involved in its implementation.

Drilon expressed confidence that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the implementing agency, would be able to defend the project in any forum or investigation.

“The DPWH, which supervised the ICC, can easily disprove the malicious allegations made against the implementation of the project. I have no involvement in any way in the bidding process for the project. I was nowhere near that process to intervene, let alone nominate anyone to be the contractor,” he said.

Drilon’s former consultant Manuel Mejorada, who has filed similar cases against him in the past, had also accused the Senate president of plunder in relation to the ICC project.

Drilon has dismissed the allegations against him as “totally baseless and ridiculous” and that the person behind it was a disgruntled former employee.

He said that he fired Mejorada as his media officer for using his social media account to lash out against his political enemies.

Responding to challenges from the political opposition that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee should investigate the allegedly overpriced ICC project just as it has the reportedly overpriced parking building of the city government of Makati, a number of senators have stated that this can be lined up as soon as sufficient evidence is provided to support the probe.

Drilon said that he was not averse to any investigation and that he would not use his position to prevent the conduct of any inquiry into the project.

“I have nothing to hide. Any inquiry or investigation will validate the facts and figures of this project, and will just show how absurd these vile allegations really are,” he said.

Once all of the facts are brought out, Drilon said the public would realize that the issues raised against him were baseless.

“The ICC is a major undertaking by various agencies, particularly the DPWH, DOT (Department of Tourism) and TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority). To say that Secretary (Rogelio) Singson, Secretary (Ramon) Jimenez and I all connived to ruin the integrity of the ICC project is absurd, baseless and malicious,” Dillon said.

Public Works Secretary Singson earlier disputed the allegations of overpricing, saying that the project was aboveboard and strictly followed the bidding process.

Singson pointed out that the actual cost of the ICC was even lower than the approved budget for the contract, which they managed to accomplish after they allowed the adoption of value engineering specifically on structural aspects of the building.

Tourism Secretary Jimenez, for his part, aired his full trust and confidence in the competence and sincerity of all those involved in the ICC project.

“I firmly believe that our actions in support of this project will withstand scrutiny. Notwithstanding this unfortunate allegation of overpricing, we will not allow this distraction to derail our mission to make tourism a force for growth and inclusiveness in this country,” Jimenez said in a statement.

Once all the facts are straightened out and the project has been cleared of any irregularity, Drilon said that the persons involved in spreading lies about the ICC project “must be made liable for their actions if their allegations were proven wrong and politically motivated.”

Drilon supporters

Administration allies in the House of Representatives rallied behind Drilon and Singson over the ICC project.

Reps. Mel Senen Sarmiento of Western Samar, Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Teodoro Haresco (Aklan), Jerry Treñas (Iloilo) and JC Rahman Nava (Guimaras) said they were confident the ICC project would stand scrutiny in any congressional investigation.

“We in the Liberal Party stand firmly behind Senate President Franklin Drilon, Secretary Rogelio Singson and Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez and their assurance that there was no overpricing involved in the project, and that the bidding process was conducted in accordance with standard rules and procedures,” Sarmiento, LP secretary general, said. With Paolo Romero