THE Commission on Audit has granted the appeal of former Puerto Princesa City mayor Edward Hagedorn and other city officials regarding the issuance of a notice of disallowance to a P37.4 million road project in Barangay Buenavista in 2009.
In a decision released earlier this week, COA Chair Michael G. Aguinaldo and Commissioner Roland C. Pondoc lifted the requirement for Hagedorn and the rest of the city officials to refund the previous P37.4 million cost of the disallowed transaction.
Records show that a team from the COA’s Fraud Audit Office conducted a special investigation into the concreting of the Macarascas-Sabang Road project in 2014. This resulted in the issuance of a notice of disallowance anchored on the finding that the Invitation to Apply for Eligibility to Bid (IAEB) was not posted on the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) website.
Such publication is a requirement under RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Aside from Hagedorn, also held liable were several other former city officials, including accountant Nanette Dario, project engineer Jimmy John Carlos, quality control engineer Gaspar Heredero, executive assistant Alfredo Sy, budget officer Ruben Francisco, city administrator Agustin Rocamora, treasurer Armando Abrea, assistant treasurer Maria Corazon Abayari, assistant city administrator Jessie Tablang, city engineer Vicente Licerio Jr., assistant city engineer Sergio Tapall and officers of contractor ALE Builders.
