Press Release
December 4, 2012

Transcript of press briefing of Sen. Serge Osmeña

Q: Ano po ang bagong revelations sa hearing?

SERGE: We presented today, and Emil Sadain did not deny, that he issued disbursement vouchers in favor of Winace Holdings. Ngunit itong disbursement vouchers pong mga ito, inamin niya na pera ng gobyerno ito pero pinapadala po itong disbursement vouchers dun po sa Paris, sa opisina ng Matiere, para ang Matiere ang magbabayad sa Winace. Tinanong ko po sa kanya, kung pera ng gobyerno ito, bakit hinahawakan ng Matiere? At bakit hindi nagkaroon ng bidding, kung pera ng gobyerno ito, bakit hindi nagkaroon ng bidding dito? Bakit Winace po ang binabayaran po dito sa iba't-ibang services? Dito po ang patong, 'yung tongpats na 26%, dito po dini-disburse. Pero hindi po pinapadala sa DPWH sapagkat kapag pinadala po sa DPWH, kailangan po ng bidding, pero kung galing sa France, sinasabi nila, 'Hindi po, Matiere ang pumili ng Winace.' So eto po, binabayaran, just in these series of vouchers, Winace was being paid P893,000, plus P1, 916,000, plus P246,000 a month, a month po. Sa lahat-lahat po 'yan aabot ng P7 million every 2 months, steady po. Tapos in January, February and March, pareho 'yan, the same amounts. So bale P3.5 million a month, that's about P40 million a year. Walang bidding po. So, we were able to elicit that eto pong ginagamit nila, disbursement voucher, nasa kontrata daw. Sinong nag-imbento niyan? Ang ganda naman niyan kasi wala ng bidding. Ang sinasabi po ninyo, kasi hiniram 'yung pera sa France, sa Paris, sila po ang makaka-disburse nito, so hindi ho kailangan ng bidding. Pero kung Pilipinas po ang humiram ng pera, eh pera natin 'yan, di ba? We were the one who borrowed from BNP Paribas. Hindi nila masagot ngayon, hindi sila makakasagot. At kung kailangan po ng expenditure dito, eh di mag-conduct muna kayo ng public bidding, di ba? That was our main discovery today. We will have more in the future hearings, but abangan na lang.

Q: Was Did you think Sadain was telling the truth?

SERGE: Asec Sadain was certainly not telling the whole truth. Kasi sabi niya muna, government to government daw ito. So ang tinanong ko sa kanya, magpakita ka nga ng isang signature ng government of the United Kingdom o government of France that says that this is a government to government deal. Wala siyang mapakita.

Q: Na-establish kung sino 'yung directly namili sa supplier?

SERGE: Sila po ang nakipag-usap sa supplier, kaya kinukuha ko sa kanila ang detalye, kelan sila nag-meet, sino sa kanila ang nag-meet, sapagka't maganda ang memory nila, selective eh.

Q: Ang DPWH o 'yung mismong...?

SERGE: 'Yung President's Bridges Program po nag-originate 'yan sa Office of the President, sa Malacañang, around 1996-1997, panahon ni Ramos. Panahon ni Erap, doon pa rin, sa Office of the Executive Secretary. Tapos in 2002, tinransfer po ni Gloria 'yung President's Bridges Program sa DPWH, where it should have naturally resided from the very beginning, because the DPWH is the infrastructure arm/ agency of the national government. It has stayed with the DPWH since 2002.

Q: 'Yung bridge process ba under the Aquino administration maayos na ngayon?

SERGE: Hindi pa po. Kasi nagkaroon pa ng 3 kontrata, under the same standard operating procedure: walang bidding, akala nila government-to-government kaya walang bidding, ODA na yen denominated. Kaya nga po I am so glad that Secretary Singson finds time to attend the hearings kasi ngayon lang niya nare-realize na medyo tabingi, hindi daang matuwid, itong mga kontratang ito. Biro mo, bolahin mo lang na government-to-government ito kasi in-endorse ng ambassador ng United Kingdom o ambassador ng France, hindi na i-ke-question 'yun. Alam mo, kung walang bidding, hindi natin malalaman if we got the best deal, diba? Bigyan mo ako ng deal na walang bidding, siyempre kahit ano pwedeng ilagay ko diyan kasi walang bidding eh.

Q: Same suppliers ang involved? Anong year ang mga 'yan?

SERGE: Opo. Mabey Johnson got 6 contracts, and Eifel Matiere got 3 contracts, no bidding. These were all from 1999 to 2008. Under Ramos, they got 2. Under Erap, they got 2. And the rest under Gloria.

Q: Who decided na walang bidding dapat?

SERGE: Nagtuturuan ngayon 'yan lahat sila. Kanina uli. Hindi po kami... Aay. Sabi ko, it started from DPWH. It started from President's Bridges Program... Ayun, sinabi ni Sadain, 'Oo, kasi in-endorse ng ambassador.' Hello! The endorsement of the ambassador was a sales pitch, it's not an official ODA imprimatur. The ODA imprimatur can only come from England, from the department called the Department of Investment Development, that's the grant-giving arm of the United Kingdom. And they have given us 2 grants in the first 2 bridges program in 1996 and in 1999. After that, wala ng grant po. Tapos, we got a grant also for Centurion of Spain, 50% of the bridge contract, regalo, binigay ng Spanish government.

Q: Sinong nag-decide po na wala ng bidding? 'Yun bang secretary ng DPWH?

SERGE: That is the first decision point, yes, the DPWH secretary. So, all the DPWH secretaries are under investigation, including Ebdane.

Q: Just to clarify, 'yung sinasabi ninyong 3 bridges project under the Aquino administration, approved siya ngayon? Anong status nila ngayon?

SERGE: Yes, approved sila ngayon. Pina-block ko, pina-suspend ko 2 months ago. Suspended sila ngayon. But it was already approved by DPWH, it was approved by the NEDA, it was approved by the NEDA Cabinet level of the President. It was about to be approved by the Department of Finance nang nahuli ko at sinabi kong, ' 'Uy, teka muna, suspend niyo muna 'yan. Kung hindi, isasama kita sa imbestigasyon.'

Q: Suspended until when?

SERGE: Suspended until we finish with this investigation. Pero sabi ko, it's exactly the same modus operandi. Bakit walang bidding? Even if we allow it to continue, we'll say you conduct a public bidding, walang official development aid 'yan.

Q: Since 1999, it did not start under the Arroyo administration?

SERGE: In the beginning may grant, so hindi mo ma-question kasi... like the British gave 40% in the first grant for 2 bridges. So kung grant 'yan, if you give me a 40% discount, you borrow the 60% from the bank, I am giving you the 40% to pay the supplier, eh di pwede akong pumili ng supplier. Normally, 'yan ang standard practice eh, ako ang nagbibigay eh. 'Huwag ka ng pumili ng IPhone kung ang gusto ko Samsung lang eh.'

Q: 'Yung 3 projects na suspended, sino ang mga suppliers?

SERGE: Wala ng Mabey Johnson, at wala ng Matiere. 'Yung isa Wagner Biro, the other one is Centunion, but Centunion is not new supply. Centunion is to install bridges that we ordered under the 2008 contract kasi hindi kaya ng DPWH, so in-extend na lang nila ang contract at sabi nila, gawin na nating turn-key ito, na you supplied it, nakatiwangwang diyan sa Subic, ngayon babayaran namin kayo, you install it. But I am asking how come you did not bid it out? Then there's another one. Cleveland Bridges of England

Q: May separate inquiry na ginagawa ang DPWH dito?

SERGE: Separate inquiry?

Q: O wala kasi sila ang involved dito?

SERGE: Ping de Jesus 'yun eh.

Q: Under what administration ba ito?

SERGE: That's under DPWH, under Babes Singson, kaya he was here. He didn't quite grasp our objections. Sabi ko, public bidding is very necessary to make sure that our money is spent wisely. Sabihin mo sakin, 'Boss, bibili ako ng auto ha.' Sasabihin ko sayo, 'Walang bidding ha.' So, I'll buy a Toyota for P20,000 tapos sasabihin ko sayo, ibenta ko sayo for P30,000, lugi ka na agad di ba?

Q: Based on your findings, can you take them to court already?

SERGE: AH, YES. I can take them to court easily. They have violated already 2 very key provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. One is putting the government at a gross disadvantage. Walang bidding, gross disadvantage na 'yan. And there's another provision in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which has to do with giving undue advantage. Kung walang bidding, undue advantage ka na, di ba?

Q: Sino-sino ang kakasuhan?

SERGE: All the signatories of the contracts, for sure. Which includes all the secretaries who signed the contracts, whether it was a supply contract, or whether it was a financing contract. That means secretary of Finance, in some cases secretary of public works, and in some cases, secretary of agrarian reform, any other cases, Executive Secretary.

Q: Those who signed contracts na walang public bidding?

SERGE: Opo. Because all of these did not go through public bidding.

Q: Under what administration?

SERGE: Since the administration...the ones that don't have an ODA ha... since 1999.

Q: 'Yung sinasabing 300-400 bridges, lahat 'yun walang bidding?

SERGE: Matiere supplied 400 bridges, they said. But the total number of bridges that is being bandied around, kasi hindi natin alam kung anong eksakto kasi modular ito eh, when you count bridges, hindi span, sometimes it takes about 2 or 3 spans to make a bridge, so ang hirap eh.

Q: How many projects? Costing how much?

SERGE: About 1,589 bridges. No bidding. The total cost would be about... bridges lang, wala 'yung RORO kasi may RORO diyan sa P111 billion... so P100 billion, bridges lang. RORO is another P11 billion, pero kinansel 'yung RORO ni PNOY...

Q: P100 billion?

SERGE: B as in Boy.... P100 billion.

Q: May link na ba kay GMA?

SERGE: Well, she approved everything here, in this President's Bridges Program. She is chairman of the... the president is the chairman of the NEDA eh, Cabinet level. And they have to approve it.

Q: Lahat ng secretaries, way back sa Ramos time... they all approved it. Pero kung hindi sila mga signatories, hindi sila liable?

SERGE: Well, that's something that the lawyers have to determine, because, for example, may record ang NEDA. Whenever they have a NEDA board meeting, ang NEDA Board, halos lahat ng Cabinet secretaries member doon... then, we have to check who voted in favor, who voted against. So, that might be a point of law that must be determined by the lawyers.

Sa PCSO kinasuhan na nga ang board di ba? For using the intelligence fund.

Q: Bailable ba ang kaso?

SERGE: Bailable? It all depends. If you can prove it's plunder, then it's not bailable. But I have not gotten to that point yet eh.

Q: Yung P100 billion na cost, 'yun ang total cost ng projects o 'yun ang patong niya?

SERGE: This is the total cost of the project. Ang patong, ang tongpats, was about P26 billion. Patong lang 'yan. Okay, so let's say some of that is partially legitimate, I think 60% of the P26 billion was really commission and kickback. We're talking about P15 billion to P16 billion in commission and kickbacks...

Q: Kickback to where? To whom?

SERGE: Kickbacks to Haresco, and through Haresco. Si Haresco ang nagbabayad. Kasi lumalabas sa kaso ng Mabey Johnson sa England, remember they were found guilty already in England, meron akong mga dokumento, nag-confess sila, inamin po nila na lahat ng country, nagha-hire sila ng known fixer para magiging ahente, 'yan ang nagba-bribe.

Q: Si Haresco 'yun?

SERGE: Oo, he is the known fixer. Sabi niya genius daw siya, anong genius, fixer! Q: Kasama siya sa icha-charge? Is he on top of the list?

SERGE: Yeah. We will have to, that's our duty...

Q: Naniniwala kayo sa mga sinabi ni Sadain na wala naman siyang na-receive na anything?

SERGE: No. And I wanted him to deny it. And you know when you ask a question like that, they will deny it. Hindi namin nila aaminin nila.

Q: May information kayo na meron?

SERGE: Abangan ninyo!

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