PACC recommends charges vs 12 NHA officials over Yolanda housing

THE PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Wednesday recommended the filing of administrative charges against 12 officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) due to alleged anomalies in the P4-billion housing program for Typhoon Yolanda victims in the Eastern Visayas Region. PACC chairperson Dante LA. Jimenez, in a chance interview with reporters, said the case particularly involves projects in Eastern Samar. PACC, in its filing before the Office of the Ombudsman, said the construction of 2,559 units in four municipalities were bagged by a sole contractor, identified as J.C. Tayag Builders, Inc., with a total contract cost of P741.53 million. However, only 36 housing units were completed as of November 2017. “The case of J.C. Tayag Builders, Inc. was also uncovered in a public hearing of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development in September 2017. In spite of this, no legal actions have been taken to bring them to account,” said Mr. Jimenez.—Vince Angelo C. Ferreras