BY GEROME DALIPE
ILOILO City – Is the Davao-based Monolithic Construction & Concrete Products, Inc. tapped to fix the defective P680-million flyover in Barangay Ungka II in Pavia, Iloilo a dummy of International Builders Corp. (IBC)? Former councilor Plaridel Nava is suspicious.
IBC was the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contractor that built the Ungka flyover.
Nava filed a complaint at the Ombudsman last year against several officials of IBC and DPWH-6 for the defective flyover.
In an interview yesterday, Nava said no contractors in their right mind would risk bringing their heavy equipment from Davao to Iloilo just to undertake a P96-million contract.
“Monolithic Construction gid man bala ang ma-retrofit sang Ungka flyover ukon ginhulam lang sang IBC ang ila license kag IBC gihapon ang mag-ubra? Let’s find out,” said Nava.
The IBC management could not be reached for comment as of this writing.
Nava was at the Iloilo City Hall accompanying his elder brother, Sumakwel Jr. who took his oath of office before Mayor Jerry Treñas at the mayor’s office yesterday.
With its P95,949,996.04 bid, Monolithic was awarded by DPWH Region 6 with the contract to retrofit and strengthen the “sinking” beams of the Ungka flyover.
The first phase of the rectification involves the jet grouting of the flyover’s 13 piers. This is expected to be finished in 120 days.
The second phase, which costs about P200 million, is for more extensive repairs, including the replacement of spans between specific piers and the deepening of the bored piles of certain piers from 28 meters to 47 meters.
For other piers, underpinning with intensive jet grouting is advised, reaching depths of up to 100 meters.
DPWH-6 aims to complete the rectification by July 2024 and fully reopen the flyover by the first week of August this year.
“I believe in my gut feeling that it is still IBC that undertakes the project. I don’t think a Davao-based contractor, just for P96 million, would travel to Iloilo and bring all its equipment here. That’s very expensive,” said Nava.
Once he has secured enough evidence, Nava said he would file additional graft charges.
In his Ombudsman complaint last year, Nava cited the failure of the respondents to exercise due diligence in ensuring the quality of the Ungka flyover funded by taxpayer’s money.
The newly-built flyover was closed to traffic September 2022 just two weeks after it was opened to traffic due to structural concerns.
Nava asked the Ombudsman to place the respondents under 90 days preventive suspension while the investigation is ongoing to prevent them from influencing the witnesses or tampering with the documents.
Third-party consulting firm Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants earlier recommended that DPWH repair the vertical displacement at piers 4, 5, and 6 of the flyover which will entail at least P296 million more to fix it.
Structural engineer Adam Abinales, the managing partner of the Pasig-based Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants, earlier told the Regional Development Council-Western Visayas’ Infrastructure Development Committee (RDC-IDC) that Pier Nos. 4, 5, and 6 of the flyover’s 16 piers sank by more than one foot between May 2022 and April 14, 2023.
Pier No. 5 was built on a layer of soil that is prone to liquefaction, which increases the risk of significant damage during seismic events such as earthquakes./PN
