SENATE President Francis “Chiz” Escudero is seeking a review on the supposed increase in the budget for the new Senate building at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
In an ambush interview on Monday, Escudero shared that he was surprised with the P23-billion allocation for the construction of Senate’s new home, which he noted was only bidded out for P8.9 billion.
“Nao-OA-an lang ako, nakakagulat at masama sa panlasa na gagastos nang ganito kalaki ang Senado para sa aming magiging bagong tahanan at opisina… Nais kong tingnan muna at suriin muna ito nang husto kung talaga bang nararapat, angkop at kung papaano ito mapababa dahil tiyak ko hindi rin maganda sa panlasa ito ng marami sa ating mga kababayan,” Escudero said.
He clarified, however, that this is just a review by the Committee on Accounts and not an investigation, emphasizing that he is not accusing anyone.
“‘Yung naunang inaprubahang budget ay P8.9 [billion]. ‘Di namin alam kung bakit ito lumobo, nung una P13 [billion] at ngayon nga P23 [billion],” he noted.
“Wala akong nakitang irregularity. Nagulantang lamang ako sa halaga. Di ba kagula-gulantang ang P13 bilyon? Edi mas nakakagulantang ang P23 [billion] para sa isang opisina lamang,” he said, noting that the allocation might be of the same amount with the “luxurious” buildings in Makati or Bonifacio Global city.
According to the Senate president, they are still finding out if the supposed P10-billion additional funding for the new Senate building was already approved or it is still being requested.
He shared that the Senate has already paid P10 billion to the contractor and a “slow down order” is being implemented because some of the features of the building were not constructed as planned and these are yet to be rectified.
With this review, Escudero said the Senate’s transfer to Taguig City might be delayed for a few months.
