PAPER TRAIL. GGDC President Mark Williams wave documents from DTI and DOLE showing Peregrine is not a licensed contractor. At his right is GGDC legal counsel Karen Jimeno.
Photo by Bong Lacson
CLARK FREEPORT – The battle for control over the 177-hectare Sabah Al-Ahmed Global Gateways Logistics City (GGLC) project here has taken a new twist in favor of its investor, Global Gateways Development Corp. (GGDC), after its “exclusive prime contractor” and developer, Peregrine Development International (Peregrine) was found to be operating illegally. A letter from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on September 30 confirmed that Peregrine is “not in PCAB’s list of registered contractors.”
PCAB or the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board “is a Statutory Licensing and Regulatory body charged with licensing and regulating contractors in the country. All contractors, including sub- and specialty contractors as well as project owners constructing without the services of a contractor must secure a PCAB license prior to engaging in the business of contracting in the country.”
However, the DTI said “a company by the name of Peregrine Construction and Management LLC, Inc. with Mr. James Sutherland Spore III as the firm’s Authorized Managing Officer filed an application for Contractor’s License on May 28, 2014.”
The DTI letter was signed by Supervising Trade-Industry Development Specialist Carolina C. Salunar of the department’s Verification, Investigation, Records and Information. During the media forum “Talk Widus” organized by the Pampanga Press Club at the Widus Hotel and Casino here last Wednesday, GGDC President Mark Williams pointed out that Peregrine only applied for a license at the onset of their dispute.
It was further revealed that Peregrine’s application for a contractor’s license “is still in process” as of September 17 this year. This is a breach of Peregrine’s Engineering Procurement Construction Management (EPCM) contract and only proves that Peregrine was operating without a valid license, Williams said.
The DTI said the applicant contractor, in this case Peregrine Construction and Management LLC, Inc. and its Authorized Managing Officer and Sustaining Technical Employee, are also required “to undergo a 40-hour Seminar of Construction Safety and Health Seminar” before their application can be accepted.
A certification from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also shows that Peregrine and Peregrine Construction and Management LLC, Inc. “are not included” in its list of contractors/ subcontractors registered under Department Order No. 18-02 and or Department Order No. 18-A otherwise known as the “Rules Implementing Article 106 to 109 of the Philippines.”
The DOLE certification dated September 24, 2014 was signed by Assistant Regional Director Geraldine Panlilio.
Assert control Meanwhile, Williams said GGDC will be “asserting operational control” over the GGLC project as the police had already ordered Herstal Security of Peregrine to allow GGDC officers and their contractors access to the project site especially at the almost complete The Medical City-Clark.
PDI president and CEO Dennis Wright through his executive assistant Roan Castro said they will answer the issue in the next media forum.
