Believe it or not, the provincial board has no minutes on the session approving the authority to enter into the controversial joint venture agreement (JVA) between the province of Bohol and the Salcon Group of Companies. This was the information given by Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) committee on public utilities and franchises through secretary Bonifacio Quirog Jr. in a letter sent to the Sangguniang Panlungsod. In his letter to the city council dated March 9, Quirog said the SP “has no minutes of the session approving on second reading the authority” to enter into a JVA between the provincial government and Salcon. Attached to Quirog’s letter was a copy of committee report no. 2012-01 of the SP committee on public utilities and franchises. The committee convened on Jan. 20 at the office of Board Member Romulo Cepedoza, committee chairman.

Present were Daryl Damalerio representing Board Member Abeleon Damalerio, committee vice chairman; and Henry Vidal representing Board Member Brigido Imboy, committee member. Also in attendance were Quirog and Provincial Legal Officer Mitchell John Boiser. The committee noted that the authority given to then Gov. Rene Relampagos to enter into the said JVA with Salcon was done through a resolution passed by the SP on Aug. 25, 2000 per resolution no. 2000-472. “Considering that the authority to the Governor was given through a resolution the same need not pass through second reading. Only Ordinances enacted by the (SP) are required to pass on second reading,” the committee report concluded. Upon being informed of this, Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim said that this only bolsters the widespread suspicion that something was wrong. “The issue is far more than legalities. You are talking here of basic utilities and yet the officials whom the people expected to protect their interest did not show extra concern about it,” he added.

Lim said that Gov. Edgar Chatto, who was the vice-governor and presiding officer at the time, has a lot of explaining to do. The mayor said Chatto has no one else to blame if people suspected that he sold the Provincial Public Utilities Department (PPUD) to Salcon “for a song.” “It is one of two things: he was remiss in his duties to conduct an exhaustive discussion and careful process before giving authority to the governor or he was part of the conspiracy to railroad the process,” he added. Lim said that the suspicious haste in the approval of the resolution and the subsequent adverse effects on the interest of the people of Tagbilaran as a result of the hasty JVA adds fuel to the fire that the entire deal was “rotten to the core”.