MANILA — Malacanang on Tuesday said the alternative proposal reportedly offered by a Japanese company to build the Kaliwa Dam project will be left to the judgment call of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“We will leave it to his judgment call,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace press briefing.
Panelo made this comment despite words from Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Reynaldo Velasco that the contract with China on the construction of the Kaliwa Dam was already a done deal.
Panelo said his office will look into Osaka-based Global Utility Development or GUDC’s claim that it has better and cheaper proposal.
“Me, what I will do is I will ask the… this particular Japanese entity or firm to give us a copy of their proposal, and then my office will look into it. And then I will make a recommendation to the President,” Panelo said.
GUDC earlier said compared to the dam project, the weir or low-level water intake they are proposing will address safety concerns and will be more economical for the government.
“But if you will ask me personally, if the advantage is so clear, if it is true that the Chinese proposal is onerous, I think we should look into it,” Panelo said.
“I think that should be thoroughly studied if the claim of the Japanese is true or not. Kasi (because) we don’t know exactly, baka (maybe) we’re also speculating,” he added.
Panelo said there may be reasons why the price offer by the Chinese company is higher than the Japanese firm.
“Baka mayroong reason ‘di ba, baka ibang technology nila ang gagamitin (There might be a reason, they might be using a different technology),” he said.
Panelo said he will refer to the experts’ opinions during his examination.
