A billboard beside the building cited a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) saying the cost of the project is being shouldered by the state firm Clark Development Corp. (CDC) which used to be headed by Tugade until he resigned to campaign for Pres. Duterte in the last presidential polls.
The building will reportedly house the office of Tugade and his staff , with 11 more nearby buildings still to be renovated for the rest of some 700 other personnel of the DOTr main office, DOTr engineer Aldrin Gatus said in an interview at the site.
The buildings, which were built as housing for American servicemen before the US Air Force abandoned its base here, used to be occupied by Cyber City call center which had shut down a few years ago.
“We are working 24 hours non-stop to make sure that the main building is ready for the transfer of the initial employees on Friday,” Gatus said. He could not say, however, whether residential provisions would be made for employees who reside in Metro Manila.
Tugade first announced last April his decision to relocate his department to Clark, citing the need to decongest Metro Manila of government offices.
No one from the CDC, which manages this freeport, nor from the DOTr could provide details on the supposed lease agreement between the two agencies, nor could anyone give figures on how much the CDC would spend for the total cost of renovation of the other 10 buildings to be occupied by the DOTr main office personnel.
It is also not clear how much lease the DOTr would pay the CDC for its occupancy of the land and renovated properties.
CDC spokesperson Noel Tulabut said “DOTr is our locator and as such we want them to be the one to release such information.”
In a telephone interview, Transportation Assistant Sec. Dante Lantin said a lease agreement was signed between his agency and the CDC, but referred queries on details to the legal department where no one was immediately available for interview.
Decongest MM
“The decision to transfer is in line with the unwavering efforts of the government to decongest Metro Manila, reduce travel time and improve travel of motorists, and help boost development in its peripheries,” the DOTr said in an earlier statement.
A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) showed that traffic congestion in Metro Manila cost the economy some P2.4 billion daily.
The DOTr said it has been holding dialogues and discussions with members of the DOTr union and employees to thresh out issues regarding the transfer.
