Roxas Bares Bid-rigging/Collusion In NIA Project

Awards Earth-Movers Worth P1.4B To ‘Favored’ Suppliers

Senator Mar Roxas has sought an inquiry into another anomaly-tainted bidding process. This involves the purchase of p1.4 billion worth of earth-moving equipment by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

"This is another proof of government’s corrup-tion. These bidding processes is accompanied with anomalies where everything is overpriced," he said.

Roxas has filed PS Resolution No. 880 seeking an inquiry by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee into the alleged bid rigging and collusive practices of two firms with the NIA-Bids and Awards Committee in connection with the acquisition of 139 units of hydraulic excavator, crawler type 0.80M3 capacity; 69 units of hydraulic excavator, crawler type 0.50M3 capacity; and 15 units of truck tractor with trailer for the repair of irrigation and drainage canals.

Roxas cited data received and gathered by his office showing how the NIA-BAC allegedly mani-pulated the bidding for the purchase of the P1.4 billion-worth of equipment "precisely to limit the number of participants in the bid project."

Roxas noted how the NIA set up stringent rules and impractical bidding period during the invitation to bid process published only once in December 16, 2008 in an advertisement in one of the country’s broadsheet newspapers. The public bidding was scheduled to be held last January 16, 2009.

Due to the short and limited period for the purchase of the bid documents, that the announcement came out too close to the Christmas break, only a number of contractors were able to submit their bid proposals, Roxas added.

"They did everything to manipulate the bidding and to disqualify more qualified firms to be able to award the contract to their favored contractors," he lamented He said the NIA-BAC violated the general principles of the Govern-ment Procurement Act and violated the principle of streamlined procurement process when it dis-qualified bidders on its own discretion.

The NIA-BAC violated the system of competitiveness "thereby raising a well-grounded belief of collusion" when it awarded the contract to the winning bidders, Transport Equipment Corporation (TEC) and Civic Merchandising Inc. (Civic) despite the fact that their respective bid prices were 20 percent higher than the offers by the disqualified bidders. /MP