Senate to conduct hearing on new Senate building issues

The Senate Committee on Accounts has set a public hearing on the New Senate Building project, and also revealed that the Department of Public Works and Highways has been uncooperative with the panel's review of the project.

"In our commitment to ensuring a prompt and impartial review of the new Senate building, the Committee on Accounts will convene a public hearing on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, 11:30 AM. This initiative aims to eliminate delays that could result in unnecessary costs or complicate cost-related matters," the committee said in a statement released by the office of its chairman, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

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The statement claimed that the DPWH has not responded to their request for all the relevant documents. 

"We have reached out numerous times to the Department of Public Works and Highways since June 14, 2024 for the submission of all project-related documents but all our communication has fallen on deaf ears. Consequently, we have formally requested Secretary Manuel Bonoan for these documents to be submitted no later than Monday, July 1, 2024. This timeline allows committee members adequate time to review the materials thoroughly ahead of Wednesday’s hearing." 

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The NSB has been under review since Senate President Francis Escudero took the helm of the Senate in a leadership change last May, 2024. 

Previously, Cayetano said that the project had been delayed for various reasons such as deviation/variation, procurement, the DPWH bureaucracy and a slowdown order.