A Waiting Shed Tests Our Governance

The story of the Molo waiting shed is not just about a 26.5% price reduction. It is a stark indictment of a broken process and a test case for public accountability that extends far beyond Iloilo City. While the new city administration’s move to slash the project’s cost from PHP 798,525.47 to PHP 586,653.37 is commendable, it is merely the first step in addressing a profound systemic failure.

This PHP 211,000 “variation” is not a simple correction; it is an admission of a massive error. True accountability demands we look beyond the fix and investigate the source. We must give credit to City Engineering Office (CEO) acting head Engr. Dianaline Señoron and City Administrator Melchor Tan, who ordered the reevaluation. But this courageous review does not resolve the core issue.

Accountability must be demanded from the officials who created, planned, and approved the original, bloated estimate. The project began under former acting city engineer Salvador Mariano Pedregosa, with Engr. Jonberlie Ladua as the project-in-charge. They, along with the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), must answer for how an estimate with components for roofing and paver blocks – so inflated they accounted for 80% of the cost reduction – was ever approved. Simply saving the money now, while welcome, lets those who failed in their duty off the hook.

This incident exposes the dangerous flaw in the city’s procurement process. Engr. Señoron herself contrasted the original “lump sum or quotation amount” with the “detailed, specified estimated cost approach” used to correct the price. The solution is clear: this detailed, itemized breakdown must be mandated for all government projects before bidding, not just during a panicked reevaluation. Making this detailed estimate a public document from the start would empower citizens and the media to be the first line of defense, spotting inflated costs long before a contract is ever signed.

Ultimately, this single, small project in Molo has placed the Commission on Audit (COA) at a crossroads. The city has submitted a “negative variation order” after the project’s completion, a highly unusual move. As every Local Government Unit (LGU) watches, COA’s decision will set a powerful precedent.

If COA validates this post-completion correction, it could grant a fresh mandate to new administrations across the Philippines to legally review, revise, and reclaim funds from their predecessors’ “similarly overpriced” projects. If it denies the order, it sends a grim message that once a flawed contract is bid out, the public is stuck with the bill.

Iloilo City did the right thing by stopping the financial bleed. Now, it must hold the responsible parties accountable, permanently reform its costing system, and – along with the rest of the nation – await the COA’s landmark decision.