Swimming pool work stopped; contractor’s blacklisting pushed

By Jordan Habbiling

BAGUIO CITY -- The city government has decided to stop construction of diving pool at the swimming pool complex of the Baguio Athletic Bowl due to the presence of a sewer beneath it. 
    Officials blamed the contractor and pushed his blacklisting and participating in bidding for city projects
    According to City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Pena and Councilor Mylen Yaranon, the excavation done during the construction had caused sewer seepage. The liquid from the sewer seeps into the pool, making it unusable. 
    Corrective measures were employed to address the leakage but no avail, Dela Pena claimed.
    The unfinished diving pool used to be a warm-up pool. Due to the circumstances, Yaranon proposed to revert the diving pool to a warm-up pool in order to fully utilize the space it occupies. The city council unanimously agreed with the said proposal.
    The construction of the diving pool was included in the scope of work of the contractor, RAG Construction. 
    Dela Pena said the contract between the city government and RAG Construction needs to be terminated to allow the city government to revert the diving pool to its original form. 
    Enumerating other reasons why the said contract needs to be terminated, Dela Pena claimed the contractor had failed to meet the deadline in the completion of the development and rehabilitation of the entire swimming pool complex and also failed to produce satisfactory work.  

Despite the city government’s efforts to constantly send reminders and notices, construction problems remained unaddressed, Dela Pena said.

He said the contractor’s project slippage and subpar performance are sufficient grounds for the termination of the contract. 

Also present in the council session, Patrick Rillorta of the City Sports Division relayed the findings of the consultant that inspected the ongoing project.

The consultant noted that the quality of the construction work was unsatisfactory.

Up to now, the contractor has yet to rectify the flaws and address the deficiencies, Rillorta said. 

Meanwhile, Councilor Levy Lloyd Orcales proposed the blacklisting of the contractor from all the infrastructure projects of the city government. He cited his own observation on the contractor’s failure in completing certain components of the project which affected the training of the city’s athletes and rendered the city’s learn-to-swim program unimplementable.

Because of the unfinished construction work, the swimming pool complex is not yet ready to be used by the athletes and the public for their safety.

In anticipation of the 2023 edition of the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) which will be held in the city, other venues for swimming events will be considered such as Saint Louis University and Philippine Military Academy.