BY DAN MARIANO



In criminal circles, “chop-chop” is the term used to describe the process of dismantling stolen cars. That way, the thieves can get a higher return on their loot—which they sell piece by piece in the black market for spare parts—and escape detection, too.

In the netherworld of government crooks, “chop-chop” also applies to the racket of breaking up civil works projects into bite-size sections—apparently in order to maximize opportunities for monkey business.

For instance, a 20-kilometer road project is broken up into nominally separate undertakings of 1 to 3 kilometers each. That way, a lawmaker in whose district the chop-chop projects are scheduled for implementation gets to have a say on the choice of contractors for each and every component of what should have been a single construction job.

Never mind that the chop-chop undertakings do not produce the level of cost-efficiency that naturally accrues to a single, uniform road project. Never mind that the involvement of numerous contractors is almost certain to result in inconsistent work quality. Never mind that in the long run, taxpayers are again hoodwinked with shoddy infrastructure.

Sources in Eastern Samar have alerted this and other media friends to just such a project in their typhoon-prone province, which for decades has been in dire need of all-weather civil works.

The Estehanons were at first overjoyed to learn that the central government in Manila has programmed Eastern Samar’s “infrastructure buildup.” They were later infuriated to discover that it looked like just another ruse to line the pockets of certain politicians.

A major item in the 2010 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) provides for P500 million to build 12 roads spanning the 20-kilometer or so stretch of the national highway passing through the towns of Wright, Taft, Borongan and Guiuan.

The first part of the project coversP50 million for a 2.5-km road in the Sulat-Del Remedio section; P20 million for a 1-km road in the Barangays San Isidro and Santo Niño; P60 million for a 3-km road in Barangays Binaloa and San Pablo; P40 million apiece for a 2-km road in Barangays Mantang and San Isidro; and another 2-km road in the Barangay Santo Nini-Nabuangan bridge area.

Part two of the same program covers the outlays of P20 million for a 1-km road in the Nabua-ngan bridge-Sulat section, P50 million for a 2.5-km road in the Bulalacao bridge-Barangay Nau-bay section, P20 million for a 1-km road in the Manglos bridge-Barangay San Miguel section, P60 million for a 3-km road in the Barangay Naubay-Barangay Piliw section, P40 million for a 2-km road in the Barangay Piliw-Barangay Bacayawan section, and P50 million each for 2.5-km roads in the Piliw-Barangay Bacayawan section and the Barangay Cancelides-Manglos bridge section.

All of these sections actually cover just one stretch of the national road from Wright to Guiuan. On paper, however, they are made to appear as small, separate projects, which are to be implemented by the DPWH district office in Eastern Samar instead of by the department’s regional or national office.

Sources said the 12 subcontracts covered a single P500-million road project in the proposed DPWH budget plan that was submitted to Congress last year for its approval.

Something funny happened, however, on the way to the DPWH budget’s approval. The department’s planning division ended up—due allegedly to a lawmaker’s arm-twisting tactics—revising the P500-million project by breaking it up into a dozen components even if these covered adjoining or interconnected sections of the national road.

Common sense holds that it is definitely more cost-effective and a lot easier to implement and ensure the quality of a road project if it is done by a single, reputable construction company instead of being farmed out to 12 different outfits.

So why did the lawmaker insist on “chop-chop”?

“Of course, your guess is as good as mine,” said an Estehanon source. “This P500-million budget, which had been committed by President Arroyo herself to the people of Eastern Samar, was eventually chop-chopped so that the congressman will have a say in the selection of his favored contractors who will corner the 12 road projects.”

The source added: “It is public knowledge that DWPH District Offices are controlled by congressmen.”

The DPWH allows its district offices to implement projects worth up to P20 million each. It can only implement projects up to P50 million provided it secures an exemption from the DPWH secretary.

Projects worth P20 million up to P200 million are assigned to DPWH regional offices while those costing over P200 million are carried out by the department’s central alone.

Chopping up the P500-million Eastern Samar road project into 12 projects apparently violates Section 54.1 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184, or the Procurement Law, which prohibits the splitting of government contracts.

According to the same law, “splitting of government contracts means the division or breaking up of government contracts into smaller quantities, or dividing contract implementation into artificial phases or sub-contracts for the purpose of evading to circumventing the requirements of law and the IRR, specially the necessity of public bidding and the requirements for the alternative methods of procurement.”

So, who could be behind the P500-million “chop-chop” road projects in Eastern Samar?

Our Estehanon source pointed out that the province has only one congressional district, which is currently occupied by Ind. Rep. Teodulo Coquilla who is, by the way, running for governor in May.

Draw you own conclusions.

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