JFK bill passed
THE legislature last night unanimously passed the governor’s bill that seeks to expedite the reconstruction of John F. Kennedy High School in Upper Tumon.
The amended bill would require the selected contractor, International Bridge Corporation, to secure funding within 90 days upon enactment of the measure, and if the fund is not produced within that period, the contractor would be disqualified.
Sen. Ray Tenorio, who authored the amendment, said he is confident IBC would be able to secure the funding within the 90-day period.
If IBC gets disqualified, the contract would be awarded to the No. 2 bidder as mandated by the procurement law, Tenorio said. “We need to build JFK as soon as possible,” he said.
The amended bill removes the original provision that would prevent other bidders from filing a protest. However, the bill provides that “there shall be no power to terminate or declare the contract null and void.”
The bill also set an 8.5 percent cap on interest rate for bond financing.
The Section 30 allotment for lease payments has been reduced from $9.8 million to $6.9 million. Whatever is left over would be used for the expansion of Okkodo High School.
JFK teacher Angelo Andres is elated the bill was passed
“Finally!” exclaimed Andres, who is also an alumnus of the school.
“The past two days were really a testament of what we had gone through because even the senators were aware of our situation. We’re very grateful the senators looked over the bill and came up with a decision and compromised for the JFK rebuild and we’re just really happy,” he said.
He also gave thumbs up to the governor’s office for taking the necessary steps that were promised in February when Gov. Felix Camacho said he was going to follow through in making sure the high school is rebuilt.
“There were so many people involved in this. Not only the teachers, the superintendent, the administrators of JFK, but also the many alumni who did as much as they could behind the scenes and I’m sure they were able to help out with this,” added Andres.
Only 11 senators voted on the bill. Vice Speaker BJ Cruz and Sens. Rory Respicio, Frank Aguon, Jr., and Ben Pangelinan were off-island.
Senators OK bill to fast-track JFK rebuild
