A company involved in the city government’s streetlights installation project is claiming that GSMAXX, the lead contractor in the project, owes them around P100 million in unpaid materials supplies.
Signify Philippines, a Taguig-based company that supplies materials to GSMAXX, has asked the city government to validate the company’s claim that the reason they were not being paid by GSMAXX was that they have yet to collect payment from the city government.
A copy of the letter dated February 15, obtained by Palawan News from a source, indicated that Signify was asking the city government if it had unpaid dues to GSMAXX for Phases 4 and 5 of the city’s street lighting project.
“The reason GSMAXX is citing to us is “non payment by LGU” and they have stopped responding to us in a timely manner,” Signify Philippines’ chief finance officer stated in the letter.
The streetlight project, with a reported budget of around P700 million, is one of GSMAXX’s big ticket projects in its portfolio of construction contracts with the city government of Puerto Princesa.
City administrator Arnel Pedrosa said, however, they will not accede to Signify’s request for information, even as he stated in a text interview with Palawan News that all the billing sent to them by GSMAXX had already been paid.
“Private transaction ‘yan, that must be resolved between them. Under privity of contract, a non-party cannot interfere,” Pedrosa said.
He pointed out that the city has no outstanding obligations to settle with GSMAXX.
“Lahat ng billing nila sa LGU are paid. Hindi puwede[ng i-request ang document] dahil ang transaction ay sa pagitan lang nila so city cannot intefere by diverting payment,” he added.
Signify officials declined to be interviewed to validate the letter obtained by Palawan News.
Engr. Ferdinand Delera, GSMAXX vice president, sought by Palawan News for a reaction, said he is not authorized to speak on the matter.
Recently, the company got into a controversy when local workers recruited by its officials and coordinators to work on a tower construction project in Bulacan ended up being stranded in Metro Manila after the project did not push through.
