PAST officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and a private contractor have been found liable to pay P22.34 million for the delays in the completion of P161.9-million worth of 14 footbridges in 2004.

The Commission on Audit (COA) issued in an 11-page decision that the 14 footbridges that have been delayed in 344 days must be charged against the Traffic authority and William L. Tan Construction (WLTC).

The 14 footbridges were built on EDSA/Roosevelt-Muñoz, C-5 Blue Boz, C-5 Centennial, C-5 Beulah Baptist-Kalayaan, C-5 Julia Vargas, Marcos Hi-way/Tayug, Marcos Hi-way/Santa Lucia, Marcos Hi-way/Ligaya, Commonwealth/Saint Peter Church, Aurora Boulevard/Araneta Avenue, Quezon Avenue/Araneta, EDSA/Monumento, Mindanao/Tandang Sora and EDSA/SM North.

Audit Chairman Maria Gracia Tan and Commissioners Heidi Mendoza and Juanito Espino Jr. ruled that “concerned officials of the MMDA” and WLTC were liable for disallowances of about P37.26 million, inclusive of liquidated damages worth P18.15 million and contract variance worth P19.1 million.

Former Traffic chairman Bayani Fernando sat at the helm of MMDA in 2004.

The amount was trimmed down to P22.34 million because the Traffic authority has already withheld P14.91 million as retention money from progress billings.

Before arriving at the decision, the state auditors conducted a review of three liquidated damages by the Traffic authority, the engineers assigned at COA-MMDA and the Cluster B of auditors based in the Audit commission.

The three-man commission sided with the engineers assigned at COA-MMDA as they followed the correct effective date of the contract, which was on March 24, 2004.

The Audit officials said that the April 21, 2004 as effective date of contract, which is stated in the two other audits were erroneous because the suspend-work orders (SO) and resume-work orders (RO) were invalid.

Initially, the MMDA and the COA Cluster B auditors pushed the effectivity of the contract in April 2004 because the orders were issued by acting project director Ramon Ona of the Traffic authority.

“It bears stressing that the SO which was signed for and in behalf of Ona was issued on March 23, 2004. But the contract entered between MMDA and the WLTC, was only executed on March 24,” the Audit commission said.

In effect the suspension order “had no force and effect” and essentially the construction of the footbridges was delayed.

They added that Ona “had no authority to issue any SO or any contract that will bind the government.”

“[Ona is] not the officer-agent of the government contemplated under the law. Hence, the said SO and RO had no effect and did not bind the government,” a portion of the ruling read.

The commission officials denied the appeal of the Traffic authority to lift the audit disallowance and asked the agency to pay P22.34 million as damages for the delay.

The P14.91 million that Traffic authority has previously withheld were ordered to be returned to the Bureau of the Treasury to form part of the government’s fund.