BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO – “Nobody can buy the governor of Iloilo,” declared an incensed Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr.
He was reacting to the insinuation of an official of the Estancia oil spill cleanup contractor that the provincial government was asking money from them.
During yesterday’s Task Force Power Barge 103 meeting at the provincial capitol, Defensor challenged Valentino Mempin to name capitol officials allegedly demanding money from Kuan Yu Global Technologies.
Mempin is the operations officer of Kuan Yu that the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. contracted to clean up the oil spill in Estancia and neighboring towns in northern Iloilo.
“I will send you to jail! Wala pang tao na nakabili sa gobernador ng Iloilo,” the governor told Mempin.
Last week, Defensor announced that the provincial government was preparing civil and criminal charges against Kuan Yu for its lousy cleanup performance.
Reacting to the impending case, Mempin said the provincial government was treating Kuan Yu that way because “we do not adopt bribery (to avoid criticism).”
“He is the only one who said the province is asking for money. Since I started my political life as a servant of the public, I never asked anyone for money,” Defensor said yesterday.
He described Mempin’s statement as irresponsible and slanderous.
Kuan Yu was merely making excuses for failing to complete its oil spill cleanup six months since it started its work December last year, Defensor added.
PSALM’s Power Barge 103 ran aground in Brgy. Botongon, Estancia during on the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” and spilled bunker fuel on the shores in November 2013.
Mempin said Kuan Yu is ready to face charges.
“Indi lang sila magdali. I learned from Panay News daw gadali gid sila. Ginapreparar lang namon sang husto,” Defensor said.
The governor also believed that the bidding for the oil spill cleanup was highly irregular. PSALM awarded Kuan Yu a P87-million oil spill cleanup contract without post qualification, he said.
“I assumed there must be violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” Defensor said.
He noted last week that oil slicks on rocks, seawalls and other man-made structures remain in Brgy. Botongon. But if Philippine Coast Guard – Western Visayas’ Commodore Athelo Ybañez were to assess the overall cleanup, Kuan Yu is almost done with its task.
The only thing left to be done is the shoreline cleanup, specifically in Brgy. Botongon.
“Eighty percent of the areas spilled with oil has been clean, we leave the 20 percent to natural recovery,” Ybañez said./PN
