By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA — Rep. Terry Ridon of Kabataan party-list was not expecting an angry Senate President Franklin Drilon to confront him regarding a resolution he filed in the House of Representatives.
The confrontation happened at a party over the weekend.
Ridon’s resolution sought for a House investigation on the dealings of Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. with the government.
It also urged lawmakers to look into the possible cases of overpricing in the construction of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
Ridon claimed that the Ilonggo senator bullied him.
“He was very angry. I didn’t reply. I froze in horror. I didn’t expect such treatment,” Ridon told Panay News in a phone interview.
Drilon denied that he bullied the party-list representative. According to the Senate president, “the band was noisy, and I could hardly hear. I had to speak in a loud voice.”
SAME RACKET?
Ridon, however, was not convinced. Whether the band was there or not was irrelevant, he said. Based on the tone of his voice, Drilon was “clearly not happy,” he stressed.
“I was wondering where he got the [information] that I was insulting him,” he told Panay News. “We were just trying to raise questions regarding the Iloilo Convention Center because it has the same contractor with the Makati City car parking building.”
He said they wanted to know if Hilmarc’s was employing the same “racket” in all its projects with the government.
Ridon said the Iloilo Convention Center should be built at only P30,000 to P35,000 per square meter.
STILL OVERPRICED
Department of Public Works and Highways Region 6 director Edilberto Tayao clarified that the project only costs P63,800 per square meter, not P109,375 as claimed by Ridon.
Still, Ridon stressed, a P60,000-per-square-meter cost is still overpriced.
“In Valenzuela City, for example, there are reports that Hilmarc’s was also contracted to build government buildings, but the cost of construction per square meter was only P30,000 to P35,000, or half of the price of ICC (Iloilo Convention Center). This proves that Hilmarc’s can build with only half the alleged price of ICC,” he said.
Ridon said they will conduct an ocular inspection of the convention center “by end of October or November.” “We want to know if high-quality materials will be used in the construction,” he said.
As for Drilon, Ridon said he is not expecting a public apology from the veteran senator. “What he did defeats a public apology,” he stressed./PN
