Tubong Lugaw: How contractor profits from gov't project

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

I had a chat recently with a government contractor. Every time we crossed path we talked about my usual curiosity how the State monies changed hand to the contractor and government officials.

The profitable re-graveling project

We discussed about re-graveling and riprap where incomes for the contractor have been a windfall.

Riprap is those loose stones used to buttress banks for breakwater that connect the two edges of the concrete bridge) while re-gravelling is putting of sand and gravel to the road in the villages so it would not be muddy for vehicles.

He said in a P28 million gravelling of roads, the Malacanang connected guy who interceded for the project in the province gets 10%, the district congressman who identified the situs or place of the project gets 5% from the worth of the project.

“Mga P15 million ang kita ko diyan sa project,” he whispered to me when I asked him how much he earned from it.

“Tubong lugaw,” ang raket na napasok ninyo,” I told him after I mentally calculated that the government and the public get only P8.8 million after P2.8 million goes to the palace’s connection, P1.4 million goes to the congressman, and the P15 million profits he pocketed.

 I believed what this contractor told me.

 In the past, a mayor who was a contractor told me the anatomy of the two-third of the government monies that went to the pocket of the contractor and government officials.

 He told me that there was a P3 million fund for re-gravelling of road from the national government in a town in a Congressional District of Pangasinan. The mayor asked him how much he would give him in case he (mayor) asks for his service.

“I give you P1 million.” The grateful town executive shook his hand for the conclusion of the negotiation. 
My contractor pal told me he got for himself the P1 million, while the remaining P1 million was deducted by P100 thousand for the municipal engineer who certified that the substandard project was above board, an average of P5 thousand to each of the barangay captains whose jurisdiction were beneficiaries of the project.

 “Iyong re-gravelling ang contractor spends only less than 30 percent of the total amount (It means less than P900 thousand from the P3 million budget- MCO),” he told me.

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But the climactic part of this column has not started yet.

My friend, who won the P28 million re-gravelling project I told you earlier, confided to me the reason why a big time contractor and politician, who was a lothario and a philanderer, died during a sexual intercourse with his maid.

The renowned contractor, just like his moneyed counterparts, was not contented with his young and pretty mistresses he gave sports utility vehicles (SUVs), houses, and businesses, had tryst with the pretty maid he probably bribed with TiraMed-500 or Tirahin Mo Maid bigyan mo ng P500.

“Gumagamit siya ng Viagra sa maid, ayon na atake sa puso,” my friend confided to me.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too