COA junks P42M claim filed by DMCI, R-II Builders against MMDA

A P42.13 million claim filed in 2019 by the D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) and R-II Builders, Inc. against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has been thrown out by the Commission on Audit for lack of merit.

In its eight-page en banc decision, the COA held that the amount being claimed was not sufficiently established by evidence in the absence of a detailed computation.

“Petitioners failed to submit supporting documents such accomplishment report, trip tickets, billing statements, and other documents showing partial performance of contract and breakdown of expenses incurred,” the Commission Proper said.

The claimants said they incurred expenses totaling P42,132,740.17 during the partial execution of the contract to develop, operate and maintain an Interim Waste Management Facility (IWMF) for Metro Manila during the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.

The project to build a new sanitary landfill with a 25-year lifespan was prompted by the closure of the San Mateo Landfill on December 31, 2000 but residents of Rizal protested against it.

This led to the idea of an interim waste disposal site or a controlled dumpsite to be operated for a two-year period.

When the project was announced for bidding, the DMCI and R-II Builders former an unincorporated Joint Venture (JV) intending to submit an offer to design, finance, construct, and operate a controlled dumpsite to serve residents and business establishments in Metro Manila.

Based on the JV’s proposal, the sanitary landfill will be constructed on Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique which entails opening a temporary transfer station in Pier 18 in Vitas, Tondo, Manila with a capacity to handle 2,000 tons of waste per day. From there, barges will be used to ferry the garbage to a pre-arranged tipping site in the northernmost part of Semirara Island.

The MMDA declared the joint venture as the winning bidder and a Notice of Award was issued in its favor on December 21, 2000. However, this was made subject to the submission of a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

There was also a reservation made by then-President Estrada that the MMDA contract on the project