The group Advocacy for Good Governance (A4GG), an organization allegedly formed by allies of businessman Jose Pepito Alvarez, was pointed by the Second Engineering District as the one who prepared the evaluation report of Malampaya-funded projects in Southern Palawan.

Engr. Mario Soriano, OIC assistant district engineer of the Second Engineering District, said a certain Engr. Alconcel, allegedly an engineer from A4GG, made the evaluation report which came out simultaneously with Engr. Antonio Escala’s affidavit.

“Engr. Alconcel . . . from A4GG prepared the report, together with a certain Benjie Katon who went to our office,” Soriano related during the Provincial Board’s regular session May 19.

The evaluation report stated that “most of the accomplishments claimed in the Palawan Second Engineering District report . . . were not true.”

“A pattern was established by the personalities involved to take advantage of the remoteness of projects. There is a blatant attempt to mislead the public on the part of the contractor and the implementing agency,” the report added.

The report, signed by Federico B. Alconcel, accordingly a registered civil engineer, focused on infrastructure projects in the second district which the district claimed as complete.

“Engineers from A4GG conducted inspections and surveys. They also mentioned that they were going to look into other projects,” Soriano related.

Soriano said they told A4GG that they should have at least went to the Second Engineering District Office before conducting any survey.

“If they have visited our office, we could have sent our representative to accompany them so that their findings wouldn’t be one-sided,” Soriano told the Board, adding that that was the first time he heard of A4GG.

Some members of the Provincial Board, on the other hand, claimed that they know nothing about the organization. Board Member Gil Acosta, lately being linked to rumored gubernatorial candidate Alvarez, claimed that he had never heard of the group.

“I only learned now that there is another group, aside from your department (second engineering district), that is evaluating the project,” Acosta addressed Soriano during the Board’s questioning on Malampaya-funded projects anomalies.

Acosta said they only heard of A4GG from Soriano, adding that the Board is not yet looking on forthcoming meetings about the organization.

“There are no formal manifestation coming from the chairman of the committee (of the whole), but maybe the issue will crop up on the next session,” Acosta said.