Department of Transportation (DOTr) Usec. Cesar Chavez sees a breach in the contract entered by the government for the procurement of 120 train coaches for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension Project.
Chavez made the remark after divulging that 80 of the train coaches already arrived in the Philippines but all have water leaks.
During DZRH's Dos Por Dos on Friday, February 17, the DOTr official said that the contractor, Mitsubishi-CAF, failed to comply with the specifications stated in the Php 12 billion contract.
"Sa factory acceptance test, ang gobyerno at ang kanyang konsultant inisa-isa kung ano ang lamang ng kontrata, sa design. Dito, hindi sinunod ng contractor. Halimbawa, sa water-proofing, dapat ang inemploy nila ay laser welded. Ang ginawa nila, ang inapply nila ay sealant," Chavez said.
"Sabi nila sa kanilang bid documents, sa kanilang bid submission, na laser-welded ang gagamitin nila. Tapos, iyon ang sinubmit nila, therefore, iyon ang inaprubahan. In other words, yung manufacturer mismo ang nag-design, at sila ang nagsabi," he further explained.
Chavez said that the Philippine government has already suspended further payments to Mitsubishi-CAF, and ordered the contractor to submit a rectification plan.
Chavez also admitted that the DOTr considers collecting liquidation damages from Mitsubishi-CAF.
"Papayag tayo na i-repair dito pero gastos nila. Pangalawa, pinag-aaralan ng gobyerno kung magkano ang liquidation damages dahil sa pagka-delay," Chavez said.
