Home 
An in-house investigation will be undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) on the ?missing? donations of scrap iron amid allegation by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña that these were used for the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City.
Regional DPWH-7 Director Josefino Rigor said he has not seen records of the donations of scrap irons.
Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre, for his part, called on Osmeña to identify which part of the CICC was built with scrap iron.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia brushed off the mayor's allegations, saying she considered it a waste of time.
?I don't really care where he got this. I don't deal with gossip,? the governor said.
Osmeña distributed some copies of a DPWH inventory on construction materials used in the CICC to local media.
The mayor said the list included scrap iron donated by a private contractor.
Osmeña said he submitted a 40-page document to the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit (COA) for investigation.
?It looks like a ledger. At least you can see that it is not so much theory anymore. We are giving them starting point to show that there is actual scrap iron being donated to DPWH,? Osmeña told a press conference yesterday.
The mayor questioned why the Capitol was ?excited? to pay P260 million to the contractor for the additional works to the CICC.
Osmeña said he wanted Sen. Panfilo Lacson to investigate the case since he doesn't want the money of the province go to waste.
?Maybe I have a naughty mind... I see the province is so excited to pay an additional P250 million under the guise of reducing the amount by P4 million they are filing a motion for reconsideration,? he said.
The mayor said the list showed that the salvaged steel materials in the DPWH-7 office were turned over by Taisei Corp. and Marubeni Corp, which was used in the Cebu South Coastal Road Project.
He said the list showed that the steel materials ?could not be put into good use and ensure the structural safety? of any pertinent infrastructure.
Osmeña said the recommendation was to dispose of the materials.
Osmeña said what he knew was that these items were sold by DPWH-7 to a private contractor without proper bidding.
The mayor said Cebu residents should not be made to pay P850 million for the CICC.
?That is already overpriced without the scrap iron, and then the buildings may have scrap iron. We might have a tourist attraction. We have the largest demonstration piece of scrap iron. a junk in Asia,? the mayor said.
