16 February 2013, The Philippine Star
by Rainier Allan Ronda
The Department of Education (DepEd) has selected a private company to serve as an independent consultant that would monitor and audit the construction of 9,301 classrooms under the public-private partnership (PPP) program.
The firm, Mohri & P.A. Associates Inc. (MPAAI), was chosen after a public bidding conducted by the DepEd Bids and Awards Committee for the independent consultancy services for the P16.2-billion program of Phase 1 of the DepEd’s PPP School Infrastructure Program (PSIP).
The 9,301 classrooms will be built in Regions 3 and 4 and 4-A under PSIP.
MPAAI submitted a winning bid of P139.88 million.
The hiring of an independent consultant for the PSIP Phase 1 has paved the way for the start of construction by the two winning consortia that bagged three separate packages of the big-ticket project.
Last October, Education Secretary Armin Luistro signed the BLT (build-lease-transfer) agreement with BF Corp.-Riverbanks Development Corp. joint venture, and the Citicore Investment Holdings-Megawide Construction Corp. in ceremonies at the DepEd complex at the Ortigas business district in Pasig City.
The consortia have 16 months from October to complete all 9,301 classrooms.
The two consortia were the winning bidders in the public bidding conducted by the DepEd for the PSIP Phase 1 aimed to address the classroom shortage in public schools.
Luistro said the PSIP aims to supplement the current initiatives of the DepEd on classroom construction nationwide.
PSIP Contract Package A for the design, construction and maintenance of 2,157 classrooms in Region 1 was awarded to BF Corp. and Riverbanks Development Corp. consortium.
PSIP Contract Packages B and C for the design, construction and maintenance of 2,885 classrooms and 4,259 classrooms in Regions 3 and 4-A, respectively, were awarded to Citicore Investment Holdings, Inc. and Megawide Construction Corp. Inc. consortium.
Upon completion and turnover of the 9,301 classrooms (with toilets, furniture and fixtures), the two winning consortia shall lease these facilities to DepEd for a period of 10 years.
The DepEd has secured a Multi-Year Obligational Authority from the Department of Budget and Management to cover its annual lease payments, amounting to P1.628 billion, for the next 10 years.
