By: Nino Aclan
SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday said the ongoing review of the skyrocketing cost of the New Senate Building (NSB) has uncovered more questionable matters that could potentially increase the overall cost of the project.
“The P25-27 billion [projected cost of NSB] could be a little bit conservative pa pala,” Cayetano said in a media interview on July 18, 2024.
Cayetano said the Senate Committee on Accounts, which he chairs, has received more documents from relevant stakeholders for thorough review.
“Developing y’ung story. This week kasi I found out na maraming tinatago sa atin. Kung sino ang nagtatago at bakit tinatago, I haven’t gotten to that [yet] but we finally received caches na halos half room full of documents and we’re getting through it,” he said.
One of the issues Cayetano pointed out was the building’s facade which had been pegged at P1 billion, then changed to P498 million. “Tapos ngayon lumalabas na P2.9 billion na at may isa pang design. Malabo y’ung ganon. Paano tayo matatapos?” he said.
Cayetano then appealed to Senator Nancy Binay, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is the NSB’s project manager, and the Senate Coordinating Team (SCT) to be truthful about the project to expedite decision-making.
“Tell the whole truth. What we’re doing is the review. If they came forward and gave us everything, we would have decisions by now,” he said.
“They are not being forthright. That’s not good kasi nga hindi natin ma-evaluate nang mabuti [ang NSB],” he added.
Cayetano said that his committee aims to complete important decisions about the project by August to prevent further delays that could make the building more expensive.
“We want to do the technical decisions all within the month of August para walang further delays or every few months inflation na naman at tataas na naman ang cost niyan,” he said.
Cayetano said he will remain focused on the review of the NSB despite the ethics complaint filed against him by Senator Nancy Binay, which Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges chair Francis “Tol” Tolentino announced on July 17, 2024, would be resolved through a “conciliation process.”
“I will not be distracted by Senator Nancy or the Ethics Committee. It’s a good idea na magka-conciliation but in this case kasi this is all about the Senate Building, the delays, and the costs,” he said.
He said that he will remain committed to finding solutions to lower the cost of the project while preserving its original design at a justified cost.
“Marami kasing lumabas at marami kaming nakita ngayon [sa review],” he said.
“It’s coming out to be the most expensive building in the country so far and we will still try to remedy that,” he added.
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