FOR BASIC CHANGE
Muntinlupa City Rep. Rufino Rozzano Biazon says he does not question the need to repair the leaking roof and the damaged South Wing entrance canopy, but at this time of austerity and economic difficulties, renovation of such magnitude does not seem to be practical.

“Okay ‘yung renovation pero sana more basic lang. ‘Yung hip designs and color, in five years outdated na ‘yan,” says the congressman who toured the US Congress in June for the first time.

	PHOTO gallery of House Speakers. [photo by Tita Valderama]

“Kung gagastos din lang ang Congress, it should be on an expense that will add up to the productivity of the members like office equipment. ‘Yun sana ang unahin,” he asserts, citing that congressmen’s individual offices had been issued only one or two computer units with programs that are becoming obsolete.

“I wish the expense were (made) on something more practical that will directly contribute to the productivity of the House,” Biazon says, noting how the US Congress has kept the simple design of Capitol Hill and the American lawmakers’ offices.

Former House Secretary General Roberto Nazareno, who dropped by his old office at the basement of the main building that had undergone renovation, says in jest that the staff should now become more productive because of the modern design that is “conducive to hard labor.”

House deputy secretary general Artemio Adasa Jr. assures that the changes under the Nograles leadership would certainly go beyond aesthetics.

Critics, he says, need not worry about pressing economic problems that need funding because these are being attended to by appropriate agencies.

The physical restructuring of the House, he adds, would lead to higher productivity as already shown in the first six months of Nograles’s leadership.

Since February this year, the House has churned out 287 bills, of which nine had become law, including the P1.2-trillion budget for 2008, the cheaper medicines law, and the measure granting tax relief to individual taxpayers, all under the Nograles speakership.

NO ANSWERS
What remains unanswered are questions about the source of funds for the renovation project.

“We don’t really know where is the source, but it came from the Office of the President, and the very purpose is to renovate the House which has not been repaired since 30 years ago,” Adasa says.

Under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act Congress passed in 2003, no bidding of any government project or contract may be started, without the procuring agency first securing a SARO from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that should certify the availability and source of funds.

As well, the project bidding and awards process seem flawed.

The P9.7-million contract to renovate the South Wing canopy and lobby supported by House funds was bidded out in February.

	THE landscaped South Wing rotunda. [photo by Tita Valderama]

In March, a supplemental bid bulletin was posted on the House website stating that two covered activities “will be undertaken by the House” but were reflected in the contractor's budget — P189,000 for the “provision of new plants and re-landscaping of the existing plant boxes at the SW (South Wing) entrance area,” and P657,160 for the “re-landscaping of the SW Rotonda (sic).”

The bid bulletin directed the contractors to specify these amounts in their contract price.

REPAIR WORK SKED
Phase 1 of the renovation covered repair and repainting of the roof of the main building, repair of gutters and waterproofing, replacement of downspouts and rehabilitation of drainage systems.

The main building exterior lobby was also retiled, enhanced and repainted. The press working area at the basement adjacent to the plenary hall was improved.

Repairs also included putting aluminum cladding at the main building’s front and rear entrances and parapets, as well as the North and South Wing exteriors, stone finishing of the front and rear facades and sidings of the main building.

The damaged South Wing entrance canopy was reconstructed, cleared and repainted, as well as the North Wing lobby. The kitchen of the South lounge, where legislators take their meals, was also renovated.

Exterior electrical fixtures were repaired and flood lights installed around the building.

The rear car park was widened, and the helipad was repaired and repainted.

“First priority (are the) hallways, comfort rooms and roof leaks down spout, etc.,” Nograles says.

There were metal cladding installed at the façade and the walls to strengthen the building and keep construction debris from falling, according to House secretary general Marilyn Barua-Yap.