Drilon accuser’s raps based on Wikipedia, ‘whispers
by Leila B. Salaverria & TJ Burgonio, Inquirer, 14 November 2014 linkhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/650567/dri ... a-whispers[/link]
The former Iloilo official who filed a plunder complaint against Senate President Franklin Drilon over the allegedly overpriced P700-million Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) on Thursday admitted he relied on Wikipedia and “whispers” of architects to back his claims. Manuel Mejorada told the Senate blue ribbon committee that he had come to “unravel a complex fraudulent transaction” that led to the violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act. [...] Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV pointed out to Mejorada that at least in the case of the allegedly overpriced P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Building II, there was an acknowledged appraiser. To this, Mejorada responded: “I’m an investigative journalist. I rely on public records, especially online sources.” Asked for a round figure on the overprice, Mejorada said: “The original information that I obtained about the project which was gathered by various sources during the briefing held during the unveiling for Iloilo Convention Center, and it’s in Wikipedia, too, based on published sources, is 6,400 square meters. [...]
When [Senator] Trillanes asked how much the building cost, Mejorada said: “My original information is Wikipedia.” Had he asked for it, Mejorada would have been given the prebidding and bidding documents by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Publics Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said. “We would have given all the information to an investigative journalist just so he would not rely on Wikipedia,” Singson said. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. agreed, and said: “I urge everyone, don’t use Wikipedia as an argument, because Wikipedia is a user-generated source. If one million said that apples were square, then apples will be square on Wikipedia tomorrow.” [...] When [Senator] Binay asked how much funds Drilon had sought in his letter request to President Aquino, Drilon said he could not recall and questioned Binay’s query. “What is the materiality of the question?” Drilon said. “The issue here is the overprice. There has been no proof presented.” He added that what was important was whether there were any public funds that were pocketed. “Is there evidence that someone made money? We’ve been meeting here for three hours but I haven’t heard how the money was stolen. Only conclusions from Wikipedia,” he said. [...]
