Planetarium project done, despite delay

MindanaoToday.com | Planetarium project done, despite delay

By: Uriel Quilinguing

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The P35-million planetarium project of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST- PAGASA) in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental that was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) due to years of delay, was finally complete. It was inaugurated on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The planetarium, which consists of an astronomical observatory, a dome-shaped projection theater that shows constellations, planets, and various astronomical phenomena, a gallery hall, and a conference room, occupies a 755-square-meter space inside the Mindanao PAGASA Regional Division (MPRSD) compound at Barangay Molugan in El Salvador City.

DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., who led the inaugural rites, said the project reminded him of the song, “Impossible Dream,” particularly the line that says “to reach and the unreachable star” because the target completion date was reset five times for a number of reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. He said there were instances they thought constructing a world-class planetarium was impossible.

Last year, when the 2022 COA Annual Audit Report was released, the uncompleted planetarium project in El Salvador City got the red flag because it should have been completed on November 22, 2019. The project timeline indicated that the notice to proceed (NTP) was issued to the contractor, GCMG Construction on March 28, 2019.

Delays were attributed to the procurement of construction materials such as tiles, glass, and acoustic boards that could not be transported in dispatch due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and compounded by inclement weather.

The COA Report advised DOST-PAGASA to call the attention of the contractor that the project was to be completed in 240 calendar days, as stipulated in the NTP, after construction work started on February 27, 2020. But the contractor managed to get work extension approvals five times dated June 2, 2021; August 12, 2021; Dec. 3, 2021; May 6, 2022; and April 6, 2023.

Also noted in the COA Report that the contractor was already paid over P32.024 million of the P15,828,364.42 of the allocated total project cost for the actual performance and satisfactory completion of 91.36 percent of the contract. When a team of auditors made an ocular inspection sometime in 2022, there were no workers at the project site.

Among the observations in the COA Report was this: “Considering that this is a design and build project, the design phase is an integral part of the project and must be included in the contract period. For any excess hereof without the approved request for extension, the contractor shall be charged with liquidated damages.”

Anthony Joseph Lucero, weather services chief of MPRSD, however, said that running after the contractor for liquidated damages due to delays will not do good for the planetarium project, instead of helping the contractor get the job done.

Lucero said that other than the reasons mentioned in the COA Report, the more convincing cause for the delay of the project completion was that the wife of the contractor got sick and died. (MT)

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