Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, stated that the variation orders (VO) or changes in the ongoing construction of the new Senate building were the reasons for the stalled construction and the increase in the overall cost of the project.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) project director Soledad Florencio released this information during the committee's hearing at the Senate last Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
According to the senator, Florencio admitted that they could not provide a set completion date for the project due to the further extension of its construction period. The new Senate building construction began in 2019.
The senator told the DPWH that the delay and additional charges for the building's construction could have been avoided if the DPWH had liaised with the Senate coordinating team before finalizing the detailed architectural and engineering design of the building.
Cayetano also questioned the additional design fee amounting to P173 million.
Earlier, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan stated that the Senate approved several changes to the initial plan for the building, which resulted in the ballooning of the required budget for it.
Bonoan further explained that the variation order or changes are a process overseen by the Senate supervision committee. The funding, he said, is not transferred to their department as it remains with the Senate.
When they submit a bid or any transaction, it is examined by the Senate, and once the documentation is approved, the DPWH is given the amount to pay the contractor. The DPWH merely implements what the Senate wants for their building construction.
There was a heated exchange between Cayetano and Senator Nancy Binay, former chairperson of the Senate Committee on Accounts, regarding the current cost of the Senate building construction.
Cayetano insisted that the cost of the Senate building construction is now P23 billion while Binay insisted it was only P21.7 billion.
(Photos by Jayson Pulga and Dexter Terante)
