Gonzalez himself could only confirm he resigned a week ago, but declined to give details on reports his resignation revolved around alleged anomalies in the P250-million hospital project up for construction in this hometown of the President.
But sources close to him, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the project has greatly disappointed Gonzalez, a retired president of the Mitsubishi Bank for the Asia Pacific region.
“First, there was the involvement of the wife of a cabinet undersecretary who offered him P5 million over the project of which he was supposed to be chair,” said the source.
Gonzalez was reported to have rejected the offer outright, telling the cabinet undersecretary’s wife he would “rather live a moral legacy to folk in Concepcion where he opted to retire after spending years in international banking.”
Another source from the provincial capitol in Tarlac City, who also asked not to be named as he feared for his job, said a top provincial official had also expressed “highly unusual interest in the project.”
While declining to comment on controversies, Gonzalez explained that the hospital project’s P250-million cost covers P200 million from the 2014 national budget, and another P50 million counterpart from the Tarlac provincial government. The project would consist of a five-storey outpatient building.
The P200 million funding from the national government was pushed by Sen. Aquino who had designated Gonzalez as project director.
He cited a soil analysis he had requested for the project site, and found out that the solid foundation for the building would have to be set at about 32 feet underground.
“This foundation alone would already consume the P50 million allocation from the local government,” he noted.
The P50 million was reportedly derived by the provincial government from the P58 million annual remittance from an electric company. This, amid reports that in the past 15 years, such annual remittances were not reflected in official documents.
The source from the capitol said a man associated with a ranking provincial official had also approached Gonzalez over the hospital project. “But Gonzalez held fort and insisted on a transparent bidding over the project. But he said he was in favor of allowing the provincial official to supply the gravel and sand for the project since their quarry site was nearby and that this could save on cost,” the source said.
Amid attempts apparently to convince him to manipulate bidding, Gonzalez expressed surprise upon learning that the P50-million phase of the project had already been bid out, amid bidding documents that, contrary to law, showed varying bid costs supposedly submitted by three bidders.
The source said that Gonzalez resigned as consultant to the Senate committee amid reports that while Sen. Aquino wasn’t involved in any anomalies in the hospital project, he seemed to have some information about them.
The P200-million phase of the hospital project would still be bid out by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Asked about these reports of anomalies, Gonzales refused to talk, but said he just might decide to “spill the beans if necessary.”
Gonzalez is a close confidant of the Aquino family. He has helped provide residence to the late Sen. Benigno Aquino and his family in Boston after First lady Imelda Marcos helped him undergo heart bypass surgery in the US. He was also the first relative to be contacted by the military to identify the body of the late senator after he was assassinated at the Manila airport in 1983.
