Monday, September 29, 2008

The truth about Cadio

For several days now, the political landscape in Iloilo, particularly in the 2nd district of Iloilo, has been dominated by the bitter attacks of Pavia mayor Arcadio Gorriceta against TESDA secretary Augusto Syjuco and Congw. Judy Syjuco on the issue of the "dakal-dakal" road.

It appears that Gorriceta was particularly incensed by the rebuttal made by Judy Syjuco, made thru a lengthy audio recording broadcast over local radio stations, on her side of the story about the P10.5-million budget for the rehabilitation of a 4-km. road in Pavia that became known as the "dakal-dakal" road.

In her radio address, Congw. Syjuco explained that the purpose of the P10.5-million budget was the "rehabilitation" of the road stretch, actually a provincial road, that was badly damaged as a result of Typhoon Frank. That was the amount available at the moment, and the DPWH intended to make the road passable again by spreading item 201 (dakal-dakal) over the entire road, compact the material with a "pison" and cut the canals along the road.

There's another amount, P28 million, that is being sought from the DPWH for the ultimate concreting of the project to the desired quality to make the road an alternative avenue linking the city to Sta. Barbara and the airport. The DPWH work program to fill the road with "dakal-dakal" was a remedial measure to bring the road to passable condition.

But it appears that Gorriceta panicked upon learning that it was the DPWH that was going to undertake the project, and not the municipality, as he had negotiated with DOJ sec. Raul Gonzales. He knew that the project was ultimately going to get a bigger budget for the concreting work, and he wanted to implement it for obvious reasons. If the money was going to be coursed through Pavia, he was going to have his choice of contractor. In fact, he had started discussions with his preferred contractor and agreed on the terms, if you know what I mean.

This was the reason Gorriceta was incensed when the DPWH started mobilizing for the first phase of the project. Gorriceta knew that P10.5 million is not enough for the cementing of the road section, but he viewed it on the long-term and saw the P28 million dangling at the end. So he raised hell and made the misleading claim that what was intended to be a cemented road was now just going to be "dakal-dakal". He was like a spoiled brat who lost his lollipop.

Was Gorriceta really motivated by the project's outcome? Did he really want to have the project undertaken by the LGU to efficiently undertake the project? Did he really want the government to save money?

Think again. Gorriceta is not that kind of person.

About 10 years ago, a scandal broke out in the top levels of the Panay Sugar Planters Federation when it was discovered that nearly P1 million intended as downpayment for the importation of farm tractors was missing from the coffers of the organization. It was discovered that one member had withdrawn the money, obviously for his personal use, when everybody else in the organization that it had been spent to help sugar planters improve their sugar production.

The board of directors of the Panay Fed was aghast. Not only were its struggling members deprived of the help in buying farm tractors, but the amount was used by one of its leaders for personal purposes. This triggered a bitter and acrimonious board room battle. But there was no way this director who dipped his fingers into the cookie jar could deny the mischief. There were handwritten receipts. Ultimately, he agreed to return the money.

That director who misused the federation's funds was a man named Arcadio Gorriceta.

That was a decade ago. Fast forward to present day Pavia, where Gorriceta is now the municipal mayor. Not just a municipal mayor, but he portrays himself as a "super mayor".

Unseen to the public eye is a grand larceny and theft on a grand scale. Gorriceta accuses Syjuco of being a thief. Perhaps he is right. But is he the good guy?

This massive theft involves the diversion of the soil excavated from the floodway that will open a new passageway for the heavy volume of water that flows through the Tigum and Aganan rivers that converge in Pavia. Every day, for more than six months now, there are hundreds of truck loads hauling the dug soil from the floodway project, supposedly for stockpiling in the designated areas approved for the project.

But the "super-mayor" saw an opportunity to enrich himself at the expense of the ordinary taxpayer. How? He pressured the project management office and the contractor, Hanjin, to haul the excavated soil to wide areas of land owned by the Gorriceta family in Pavia, Iloilo. By filling the properties with the excavated soil, super mayor Gorriceta raised the elevation of their lands by about two feet above the road level. This is all for free!

Ask any trucker or contractor and you will learn that filling material costs about P80 per cubic meter. It is estimated that by the time the illegal dumping of the excavated soil to the Gorriceta properties is over, more than 200,000 cubic meters of soil will have been poured there. Simple arithmetic tells you that super mayor Gorriceta will have acquired P16 million worth of filling materials for free! Not only did he get free filling materials: the value of their lands shot up! He also didn't have to spend a centavo for the hauling. Hanjin did it for free.

It's a double-windfall for Arcadio Gorriceta. It's a "winner-take-all" feat that he was able to score by making full use of his position as "super-mayor". And he was able to accomplish these at the expense of the Filipino taxpayer, and exposing the neighboring properties in Pavia to risk of flooding. At the very least, this involves an issue of conflict of interest. At the far end of the spectrum is a serious offense of unlawfully enriching himself at the expense of the public.

Why is this so?

First, it is usual practice in government projects like the floodway construction to dispose of the excavated soil as "waste material" to be sold to interested buyers, usually real estate companies needing huge volumes of soil as landfill. As mentioned, the going rate is P80 per cubic meter. That's why the project identified a stockpile area duly approved by the DENR. The stockpile area is carefully chosen so as to avoid "impacting" on the surrounding properties in terms of exposing these to flooding. This is done to make it easier for buyers to get the soil.

What super mayor Gorriceta did was to force Hanjin and the project management office of the DPWH to divert the excavated soil to the family's two big properties in Pavia without paying a single centavo for it. As a result, the national government, and in turn, the taxpayers, were deprived of untold millions of pesos of excavated soil that could still have been sold to help defray the cost of building the floodway. This is highway robbery! It's a repeat of the sugar planters federation story a decade ago!

Gorriceta's properties will more than triple in value as well. With a ground elevation higher than the existing road network, Gorriceta can market the family's properties at a premium price! Where can one find a better bargain? Free filling material at the expense of the ordinary taxpayer while enhancing the value of their properties. This man is no different from Senate President Manny Villar who doesn't hesitate to use his clout to pour public money into roads that lead to his subdivisions.

But maybe all these can be forgiven. After all, Arcadio Gorriceta is a "super mayor" and he must be entitled to getting more benefits for the "super performance" that he has accomplished. Never mind that it's at at the expense of his fellow Pavianhons.

What is repulsive about this whole affair is that "super mayor" Arcadio Gorriceta is exposing the entire municipality to the danger of worst flooding than was seen last June 21, 2008. With the Gorriceta property now two feet above the rest of the municipality, the neighbors will find that in the event of heavy rains, water will not be able to flow out to the usual tributaries and rivers. The Gorriceta will become a dam in the middle of the town! Pavia will now face more danger of flooding than ever.

This is just to present one side of Arcadio Gorriceta that he has camouflaged from the public. There are always two sides of a coin, and this is the flip side. This is the true side of super mayor Gorriceta.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it possible that the magnitude of the flood that hit Pavia rose to such deadly and destructive level because of the back filling on the Gorriceta family?

Anonymous said...

it's not just the excavated material that cadio has cornered. pati fuel sang hanjin, puwersado nga dira matughong sa caltex owned by the gorricetas in pavia. there is one big trucker who tried to put up a tank facility inside his depot para hapos mag refuel mga truck niya. gorriceta blocked this para mapilitan nga sa ila gas station makuha diesel.

Anonymous said...

What happened in Pavia last June 21, 2008 was horrible. And it's really disgusting to think that part of the blame falls squarely on the laps of the mayor, Arcadio Gorriceta. He owes his constituents an explanation on this apparent ethical violation and abuse of power as municipal mayor. In other countries, issues like this lead to the resignation of public officials concerned. Would Gorriceta do the honorable act of resigning?

Anonymous said...

What mayor Gorriceta has done is despicable. He has done well in projecting a very positive image. Now this article exposes an ugly truth about his real motives. The people of Pavia should turn their anger toward this greedy mayor.

Anonymous said...

abi ko gani da best mayor na gid si cadio gorriceta. gali puro man lang media hype. maayo lang siya mag package sang kaugalingon sa media. ti subong naga sungaw na bajo niya. papatihon pa kita nga puro maayo ang iya katuyu-an? intu-a pa kami, cads...

Anonymous said...

I heard this over the grapevine: the muncipality of Pavia purchased a generator set. It was supposed to be brand-new. But it wasn't. The generator set was second-hand, and its previous owner was Larry Gorriceta, brother of super mayor Arcadio Gorriceta. Now I understand how these brothers are becoming richer and richer.

Anonymous said...

A few days ago, I saw streamers hanging in many places in Pavia greeting Mayor Gorriceta on his birthday. It was also supposed to be an expression of support and love from the different barangays of the municipality.

That might have impressed me about the overwhelming love being shown by his people. But I noticed that the streamers were uniformly done. And that led me to only one conclusion --- these streamers were ordered made and hung by no less than Cadio Gorriceta.

Nakakasuka!

libra_pound said...

the truth about the asphalting of tigum - cabugao norte road. it implemented by the super mayor cadio, yet a week after they implement the project, "nawasak na" he still very look handsome on the 12million billboard but the asphalt road wala na.

Anonymous said...

TO "SUPER MAYOR CADIO" YOU CAN BLIND FOLD ALL THE PEOPLE OF YOUR EVIL DEEDS, BUT NOT GOD. GABAAN KA GID.

Steve said...

basi guilty si cadio nga gulpi natunaw ang cabugao-tigum road nga two years pa lang na aspalto amo na nga ginhawa nya katinguha ma cemento para indi mag reklamo ang tawo

Steve said...

has cadio made a proper accounting of the money he got from abroad as aid for pavia flood victims? i'm just curious. i have a relative from the u.s. who gave him $1,500.

Anonymous said...

there's a report from the coa about the many anomalies of cadio gorriceta as mayor of pavia. maayo guro i-link naton diri ang digital copy of the report.

Steve said...

the daily guardian has tken notice of this blog and ran a story about the "smear campaign against gorriceta" in its oct. 8 issue. you can also read it online on - http://scrimgeour.wordpress.com.

as usual, gorriceta blames the syjucos for this blog. what he doesn't know is that there's so much truth waiting to burst forth about him.

wait for more...

Anonymous said...

super mayor arcadio "cadio" gorriceta denied any anomaly in the P1 million fund intended as down payment for farm tractors in the panay federation of sugar farmers 10 years ago.

maybe what he means by "no anomaly" is that the money was ultimately returned after repeated demands by the board of directors.

the media might want to ask mr. eli bagtasus about it. he was the one who took the heat for the missing money.

what do you say, vic fac?

Anonymous said...

Sure SUPER K MAYOR cads will Deny because he doesn't widrawn the
1 million of cocofed money by himself, according to E.B. he issued the check to Zuzette B. Gorriceta & Joyce B. Gorriceta. Ti wala tana si SUPER K MAYOR cads kabool kato ah tana pa gani nag balik. Tulad gani, ga ahente si SUPER K MAYOR cads ka mga lupa digya sa Pavia. Indi timo kabakal ka lupa digya kon indi mag agi sa mga ido ya kag wala tna partida.. Ike H. diesdies laughing

Anonymous said...

now the floodgates of truth have burst open. the secrets of cadio gorriceta are rushing to be revealed and betray his true character. i've known cadio since our college days, and i know he is very scheming and manipulative. he boasts of giving money to danny fajardo of panay news to paint a nice image of him. "barato man lang ina si danny, ok na maski 5,000 pesos," cadio told a close circle of friends that includes cong. arthur defensor.

Anonymous said...

ang paborito nga hilimuon ni cadio dira sa pavia amo ang pag pangayo sang lote sa mga subdivision developers nga nagasulod sa banwa. that's the reason parc regency was able to short cut the paper work because cadio pushed things for them in exchange for a prime lot. daw bati ko, may kaupod pa ina nga balay.

Anonymous said...

did you hear about the break-in at the panay fed headquarters shortly after cadio paid several post-dated checks to settle the misused funds?

yes, the panay fed decided to hush-hush the scandal because it might blow up like a nuclear bomb and cause irreparable damage to the name of the organization.

what's curious, though, is that part of the loot were the post-dated checks. in short, the amount was never fully settled.

one doesn't have to be sherlock holmes to establish who plotted the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

there are engineers who have postulated that the flood last june 21 would not have reached that kind of destructive magnitude if only cadio gorriceta's stockpiles didn't act up as dam that caused the water to build up to a dangerous level.

the house of representatives should look into this and demand an explanation from the denr's environmental management bureau.

Anonymous said...

super mayor gorriceta is very thorough and precise. long before the iloilo flood control was officially launched, he had already gotten approval of the department of public works and highways to make the family property a dumpsite for the excavated soil. this guy can see into the future. he can be a good "manghuhula" once his stint as mayor of pavia ends.