Officials of the Catanduanes State University (CatSU) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are scrambling to craft and approve a Memorandum of Agreement covering the almost-finished construction of a P10-million Home for the Elderly in a remote corner of the campus.
Informed sources said officials from both agencies met recently at the university to hammer out details of the MOA, a month after the Sangguniang Bayan of Virac confirmed in a meeting that the proponent of the project, Congressman Eulogio Rodriguez, chose the location of the facility without consulting the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) or the Virac Municipal Federation of Senior Citizens Association.
The committee meeting held March 17, 2025 was called by Councilor Virgilio Candelaria, chairmen of the Committee on Elderly & Differently-Abled Persons, Social Welfare & Gender and Development (GAD) after Vice Mayor Arlynn Arcilla noticed during the previous regular session that there was a project entitled Home for the Elderly in the monthly accomplishment report submitted by the DPWH Catanduanes District Engineering Office.
While she was excited about the development, she expressed concern that while the project was already 44% completed at the time, the local government unit of Virac, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO), Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office (PDAO) or even the OSCA were not aware of the project.
Vice Mayor Arcilla asked the invited resource persons – OIC President Roberto Barba, CatSU planning and legal staff, DPWH engineers Richelle Ong and Joemel Samosa, Municipal Engineer Cipriano Almojuela Jr., OSCA Chairman Renato Arcilla and VMFSCA President Daisy Panti – how senior citizens could avail of the facility’s services, how it would be operated and if the university has the capability to maintain and provide the basic services of the facility.
CatSU Project Development Officer Engr. Renato Chiong told the committee that the university was the one supposed to plan the project but it was implemented by DPWH due to a special provision in the General Appropriations Act of 2024 that projects costing P5 million and up will be done by the infra agency.
“As of now, we have no MOA with the DPWH kung anong mangyayari after the completion of the project,” he admitted.
OIC Pres. Barba said that the MOA is still being finalized so it could be presented to the CatSU Board of Regents for approval.
He added that the project, which he claimed was approved through “mutual agreement” during the time of former Pres. Patrick Alain Azanza, still has no operational guidelines.
The committee heard from the municipal engineer that the project has no building permit as the plans were submitted only last March.
The vice mayor also shared that after the session, she called up Engineer II Richelle Ong to inquire where the project would be constructed as the projects in the DPWH list only indicated its location as “Virac, Catanduanes.”
Expressing her wish that its use would be maximized by the elderly sector, Arcilla wondered how it would be operated by the university and if it was included in its overall development plans.
“Kung by this time mapapatunayan na walang kaliwanagan ito, nakakalungkot lang na the people’s money is being wasted…,” she said.
On the other hand, OSCA Chair Arcilla confirmed that there was no prior consultation between the DPWH or the Congressional District Office with his office.
“Dai man nakaisi ang opisina mi kung igwang itugdok na arog kaan kaya lang naisihan ko na sana kan haman na,” he bared.
He said he went to the office of Cong. Rodriguez, who admitted that there was no MOA covering the project at the time but did not answer the OSCA’s concern regarding the fact that the building would become property of CatSU after 25 years.
According to a source present at the meeting, VMFSCA Panti asked CatSU officials why the facility was built at the university when it was supposed to be for the LGU’s elderly.
CatSU Planning Officer Arch. Mae Lizza Bublo informed the committee that all of the proposed buildings of the university are listed in the 10-year Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) but the Home for the Elderly is not in the list.
Bublo later corrected her statement and said that the LUDIP includes a health and wellness complex, College of Medicine, hospital and Home for the Elderly.
Pursuant to Republic Act 11396, all land use or infrastructure projects of the SUCs shall be required to follow the LUDIP, which shall be linked with the land use plan and practice of the local government units to ensure complementation of activities across geographical boundaries.
The planning officer also claimed that last year the university president received a letter from DPWH asking for a location for the “approved” project.
The site of the proposed complex is said to be at the right front portion of the campus near the national highway, with the part supposed to be the College of Medicine building already occupied by the People’s Center, a P90-million edifice also implemented by the DPWH.
While the People’s Center is just 40 meters from the highway, the Home for the Elderly is 1.3 kilometers away, with the MICES gymnasium another 400 meters away.
Councilor Candelaria queried DPWH’s Ong why there was no MOA covering the project when work on the project was started on Oct. 15, 2024.
Engr. Ong blamed CatSU for taking too long to hand over the documentary requirements and that all she had at the time of the bidding was an April 26, 2024 letter from the former president confirming and approving the location of the project.
She also admitted that Planning and Design Section Chief Engr. Rosana Camacho told her that as the Home for the Elderly is a locally funded project, the DPWH will not be the one to operate it and that the LGU or the Department of Health can enter into a MOA with CatSU.
Reacting to Ong’s statement, Engr. Chiong claimed that as early as the start of the project, CatSU already asked DPWH to provide the MOA, otherwise it would recommend suspension of the project.
The DPWH official, however, denied receiving such a letter or any communication from the university.
She likewise quoted Engr. Camacho’s statement that the proponent of the project is Cong. Leo Rodriguez.
“Kasi sabi niya sa akin kapag local projects daw kung sino ang proponent, automatic po pupunta sa office niya, ganito ganyan,” she stated, adding that during the preliminary detailed engineering state, there was close coordination between the congressman and the Planning and Design Section.
Vice Mayor Arcilla appealed to CatSU to maintain the objectives of the project in serving senior citizens and that it would not be converted into a part of the proposed hospital or as a training venue.
She said that, as the facility is badly needed by the elderly, LGUs are open to partnership and agreement with the university to ensure proper operation of the facility.
In response, OIC-President Barba conceded that one of their biggest problems is the operational guidelines once the DPWH completes the project.
“Wala po kaming allocation for that, so it would be practical to have a MOA with LGU or the OSCA. Wala naman sa guidelines naming na CatSU or, ano lang, elderly ang gagamit,” he said further.
In closing, Vice Mayor Arcilla called for transparency and prior consultation regarding the implementation of projects, which she said should be coordinated with the LGU.