Roxas Demands NIA To Show Proof Advises: Rectify P1.4-B Bidding Mess

Senator Mar Roxas last week said the National Irrigation Administrator (NIA) has yet to submit proof to the Senate that the questionable bidding for P1.4-billion worth of heavy machineries was indeed canceled and that there was no contract awarded.

Roxas who earlier howled against the skewed bidding, also called on the NIA to show the Senate that it has revamped its Bids and Awards Committee before it conducts another bidding for the said machineries, purportedly for the repair of irrigation systems nationwide.

"NIA has not sent us any proof that they have fixed the problem already. For all we know, the re-bidding of the P1.4 billion worth of backhoes and trucks is still ‘fixed,’" he said.

"Let’s restore the public’s trust in the government and its institutions," he stressed.

The Visayan senator stressed that NIA could go ahead and conduct a re-bidding for the said heavy machineries, but only after it has made sure that, this time around, their bidding process would be fair and the final cost to government would be much lower than retail prices.

Roxas had earlier sought a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry into the anomalous bidding, exposing that undue favor was given by NIA to two contractors who should have been disqualified under their own rules, while two of the industry’s top heavy equipment suppliers were eased out. Had the contract been awarded, he said the government would have lost P100 million compared to buying the same equipment in the retail market.

"The syndicates of corruption in government have the same modus operandi. But they continue to be free because they are not being held accountable," Roxas stressed.

NIA in April an-nounced the cancellation of the auction for heavy irrigation equipment worth about P1.4 billion after a disqualified bidder filed a case in court questioning the bidding held for the undertaking. He had said the delays in the project had made uncertain the procuring of the equipment in time for the restoration of irrigation facilities during the dry season.