LEGAZPI CITY – The Albay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has passed a resolution endorsing a resolution of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Albay requesting President Arroyo to order a top-level investigation on the damaged Pantao Port in Libon, Albay devastated by typhoons Milenyo and Reming last year.

        ACCI Resolution No. 01-2007 endorsed SPA Resolution No. 06-2007 which requested President Arroyo to order a high-level investigation on why the modern all-weather Pantao Port had collapsed despite the more than P200 million spent for its construction.

        Authored by ACCI past president and director Marcial Tuanqui, Jr., the resolution was unanimously approved by the body.

        In his sponsorship message, Tuanqui said that while Pantao Port was supposed to be an all-weather port, its newly-constructed dock was severely damaged and rendered useless after it was battered by typhoons Milenyo and Reming last year.

        The chamber said that “the destruction of the newly-constructed Pantao Port is a despicable waste of taxpayers’ money and a big setback to Bicol’s economic development efforts.”

        Billed as the President’s flagship project for the Bicol region, Pantao Port was inaugurated by President Arroyo on May 27, 2005.

        Aside from the investigations conducted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the Regional Project Monitoring Committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) had also conducted its own probe to look into the project’s collapse.

        Was the collapse due to defective design by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) central office or due to substandard materials used by the contractor, Equi-Parco Construction Corporation?

        During the investigations, PPA Engineers Nestor Cayanan and Arnold Quitevis insisted that there was nothing wrong with the design and that the contract or followed the design and the specifications.

        But they blamed force majeure or nature for wrecking havoc on the regional port. They said that in the feasibility study conducted by a private firm, wind velocity was estimated to reach only 179.5 kph but Milenyo’s wind velocity was more than 200 kph.

        However, ACCI believes that the report on the real cause of the port’s collapse was being kept under wraps from the President and Malacañang for obvious reasons.

        The resolution was attested by Henry Buban, ACCI president.

        Copies of the ACCI Resolution were sent to the President, Philippine Senate, Presidential Management Staff, PPA Central Office, Sens. Panfilo Lacson, Gregorio Honasan, Francis Escudero, NEDA Central Office, RDC Bicol, Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Albay and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.