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LEGASPI CITY: Despite efforts to remain in his Bicol assignment as
regional director until his date of retirement, Orlando Roces was
instead reassigned to Region 6 by Public Works Secretary Hermogenes
Ebdane.
Asst. Regional Director Oscar Cristobal
confirmed the unexpected development and said that Regional Director
Rolando Asis of Region 6 will be replacing Roces.
The controversial regional director was charged
before the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption but
was eventually cleared in 2003.
During his stint as Albay district engineer, he
was tagged as the player in the P60 million sports complex scam
based on the report of the Senate Committee on Public Works chaired
by then Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr. He was, however, cleared by the
Commission on Audit.
Gov. Fernando Gonzales, during his term from
2004 to 2007, exposed the Mayon dredging project scam. Mayor Noel
Rosal of Legaspi said he was present when, as sponsors in a wedding
in Manila, Gonzales had assailed the DPWH official for the dredging
project, as it only had 25 percent accomplishment contrary to the
claims of Roces, which the latter denied.
Last year, the Roces controversy multiplied when
he issued a memorandum dated September 26 creating a task force that
acquired all the projects in the Albay 2nd District from the regular
Albay Engineering District. The creation of this task force was
intended to appease then newly elected Rep. Al Francis Bichara (Albay
2nd District) whose proposal for a separate engineering district was
rejected.
Bicol district engineers assailed Roces for
creating the task force saying it was a bad precedent for them that
a congressman who may want them transferred may simply ask for a
task force and paralyze the operation of the regular district
office.
-- Manny T. Ugalde
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