Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ma. Cristina Aldeguer-Roque has been invited as the resource person for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) hearing on Wednesday, October 22, to gather further details on the systems and procedure with regard to contractors’ accreditation.
This is still for the ICI’s ongoing investigation into the infrastructure anomalies, specifically flood control irregularities, across the country.
‘It’s for the systems and processes that it does in relation to the role of the PCAB (Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board), how they accredit, and at the same time, what its composition is,’ ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka explained, speaking partly in Filipino, in a press briefing on Tuesday.
‘We also requested her to provide us the registration records of contractors who may be involved in the anomalous flood control projects,’ he added.
Hosaka said the hearing will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the ICI building in Taguig City.
Roberto Bernardo to skip hearing again
Meanwhile, former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo will not appear before the ICI hearing again this week, still citing medical reasons.
‘He will not be coming because he informed us that he is still sick,’ Hosaka said.
When asked about the specific illness of Bernardo, Hosaka said, ‘Hindi niya nasabi kung ano, but we already asked for a medical certificate.’
Hosaka said the next hearing for Bernardo would be November 11 or 12.
It will be the third time that Bernardo will skip the ICI hearing.
At first, the ICI said the former DPWH undersecretary requested to reset the hearing for October 8 to gather more documents needed for the investigation.
Meanwhile, on October 14, Bernardo asked the commission again to postpone the supposed October 15 hearing due to illness.
Bernardo first attended the ICI hearing on October 1.
The former DPWH undersecretary was summoned before the ICI after he recently testified before the Senate blue ribbon committee that Escudero, as well as former Senators Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. and Nancy Binay, allegedly received kickbacks from allocations for projects of the DPWH.
He also tagged Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who recently resigned as a member of the House of Representatives, on the anomaly. /jpv