(CMFR/IFEX) – A local newspaper publisher has reportedly received threats after exposing a local government project involving an “anomalous” contractor in Tacloban City, located 360 miles southeast of Manila. According to “The Tacloban Star” publisher Nestor Abrematea, he received a phone call on the night of 4 February 2006 while he was in Manila. He […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – A local newspaper publisher has reportedly received threats after exposing a local government project involving an “anomalous” contractor in Tacloban City, located 360 miles southeast of Manila.
According to “The Tacloban Star” publisher Nestor Abrematea, he received a phone call on the night of 4 February 2006 while he was in Manila. He believes that the phone call came from Brig. Gen. Dionisio Coloma, a security officer for Tacloban City mayor Alfredo Romualdez.
“He (Coloma) told me to stop exposing the mayor’s projects, or else something might happen to me,” Abrematea said in an interview with the CMFR. Abrematea recorded their conversation on tape.
Radio broadcaster Neil Globa, of Tacloban City-based Aksyon Radyo (Action Radio) DYDL, said he interviewed Abrematea regarding the incident. Globa heard the recorded conversation, but was not able to air it because it was not clear enough.
The threat occurred following a 30 January conference Abrematea organized in the Hotel Alejandro in Tacloban. In that event, he first exposed the involvement of a suspicious contractor in the construction of Romualdez’s P92-million (approx. US$1.8 million) public market construction project.
According to Abrematea, the resolution of the bid for the project stated that the contractor was ITP Constructions, a firm based in Manila. However, the ITP, through engineer Antonio Cruz, denied that it was handling the project.
“We are not handling any project in Tacloban. We were not even one of the bidders for that [project],” Cruz said.
Cruz also said that they became aware of ITP’s involvement with the project only when the Quezon City Hall treasurer’s office sent their company a letter inquiring about the taxes concerning a project in Tacloban City.
Cruz said he learned that there had been some problems with the winning bidder and so the local government looked for another construction company to finish the building.
Abrematea continued to cover the issue in “The Tacloban Star” even after he received the call. He said he has not yet taken any action regarding the threat, nor filed any formal charges against the persons involved.
CMFR tried to get the side of Romualdez, but the mayor was not available.
