Migz: Senate building project above-board

Former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday expressed confidence that no irregularities would be found by the Senate investigation into the construction of the new Senate building.

“Yes, absolutely. There was no such a thing,” Zubiri told reporters when asked if he could confidently say that there were no irregularities in the funding for the construction of the building in Taguig City.

“I inherited the project from Senator (Vicente) Sotto III and Senator (Panfilo) Lacson. Senator Lacson is a stickler for accountability and transparency, so when I was elected Senate President, I ordered that there should be transparency,” he said.

He continued: “I told them that the project should be above board. We will not be signing any documents without seeing where the construction materials are coming from.”

The Senate Committee on Accounts, chaired by then Senator Lacson, recommended approval of the construction of the new Senate building, which was approved by the Senate under Sotto’s leadership.

Zubiri made the remarks ahead of the investigation of the Senate Committee on Accounts headed by its new chairperson, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero had ordered the suspension of the construction due to its aggregated cost of P23 billion, which was far from its initial cost of P8.9 billion.

For his part, Zubiri explained that the originally allocated budget for the project was only for its “shell,” or the framework of the building.

“Senator Ping mentioned to us before that it was for the structural aspects only, so obviously there will be additional costs for fitting out and finishing,” he said.

According to him, the Department of Public Works and Highways proposed the project be done under a “multiyear contract.”

“It wasn’t a one-time big project; it was to be done in phases: Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3,” he said.

“Phase 1, which they say cost almost P9 billion, included only the structural works, so it was just the shell. Phase 2 involved the completion of the structural works, and Phase 3 is the fit-out, including the air conditioning, bathroom fixtures, and lighting, which are very important,” he added.

Before this, Senator Nancy Binay, who previously headed the Senate Committee on Accounts, expressed disappointment over the suspension of the construction of the new Senate building.