What will Tagbilaran gain out of the unfinished Agora Market?
Torralba: I have no objections on finishing the Agora Market. In fact, during my last term as mayor, I have already laid out a plan regarding the unfinished Agora. But due to budgetary constraints, as we were also dependent on promised national funding, we were not able to complete the project. My protest regarding the Agora rehabilitation is the bidding process by which the award of the project was conducted. We have learned, however, that the old mode was used in the bidding process which is the rehabilitate-operate-transfer (ROT) instead of the more acceptable build-operate-transfer (BOT) law. The bidding was conducted through the PBAC, instead of the BAC, which is not in accordance with the new procurement law. Even the basic requirements such as a COA appraisal and feasibility study was not complied with. There are other requirements that should have been complied. The obvious reason for using the PBAC is to rush the bidding process, as the election period was approaching. Lim: If
