BuCor official sued by caterer tagged in Bilibid food poisoning
The food caterer blamed for the food poisoning in the New Bilibid Prison that downed 1,200 inmates went to the Ombudsman to sue an official of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for graft.
Mang Kiko Catering Services President Alvin Navarro on Tuesday filed the graft complaint against Cynthia Andrada, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairperson for the BuCor, for allegedly showing partiality and bad faith against Mang Kiko.
In the complaint, Navarro said Andrada refused to sign the food inspection reports after the beef nilaga served by Mang Kiko was found to be contaminated in January this year, allegedly to make it appear Mang Kiko failed to deliver the food for inspection.
Navarro said Andrada refused to sign the inspection reports even though Mang Kiko found out about the contaminated beef after its routine inspection and even though the caterer replaced the spoiled beef nilaga with pork nilaga.
Moreover, Navarro said Andrada violated the rules on bidding when she postponed a May 8, 2017 bidding only three days before the scheduled bidding, despite the seven-day requirement under the law.
At the start of the bidding, Andrada ordered that observations and opposition on the bidding be made only after the opening of all bids, which caused Mang Kiko to belatedly manifest that the other bidders were ineligible for failing to satisfy the technical requirements.
Navarro said Mang Kiko on May 11 received a notice about a complaint for suspension and blacklist for alleged violation of its emergency procurement services contract purportedly due to breach of contract. But the caterer did not receive a copy of the said complaint, Navarro said.
Navarro said the “odd rescheduling” of the bidding as well as the subsequent blacklisting complaint “could not have been more than a mere coincidence.”
“There was a design, a concerted effort to unfairly disqualify (Mang Kiko) from participating and joining the submission and opening of bids for the year 2017,” Navarro said in the complaint.
Navarro said Andrada is trying to make it appear that the 11 year period when Mang Kiko won the bid for catering “has resulted [in] a monopoly which defeats the purpose of the bidding.”
“Dr. Andrada’s acts showed clear partiality and evident bad faith to the extreme detriment of (Mang Kiko),” Navarro said.
Mang Kiko Catering Services was blamed for the diarrhea outbreak in Bilibid that downed 1,200 inmates, two of whom died.
While Mang Kiko was largely blamed for the diarrhea allegedly caused by a spoiled paksiw na bangus, Mang Kiko has pointed at the Bilibid’s contaminated water supply as the cause.
RELATED STORIES
Diarrhea outbreak spreads in Bilibid; 2 dead
Bilibid food poisoning kills 2, downs more than 1,200 inmates
Deliberate poisoning of 900 NBP inmates possible — Aguirre
