DOTr warns contractors against posers, fake bidding documents
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday warned against individuals or groups who pose as its employees or officials and send out fake public bidding documents thru e-mail.
This notice came after a representative of a contractor went to DOTr’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat and reported about the receipt of an e-mail from “BAC Sec DOTr” with an attached “Notice of Award” allegedly signed by a BAC official.
The e-mail reportedly claims that the contractor’s company won the bidding for an unidentified project. But ensuing investigation revealed the e-mailed document was falsified and the e-mail address used to send the documents was not the official e-mail address of DOTr BAC Secretariat.
“Patunay po ito na matatag ang integridad ng ating procurement system (This proves the strength and integrity of our procurement system). Hindi nakakalusot sa atin ang mga tiwali at mapanlinlang,” DOTr Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Mark Steven Pastor said in a statement.
Pastor was the one who supposedly signed the falsified Notice of Award as BAC chairman for the Aviation and Airports Sector.
“Last year, may mga nahuli rin tayong ganyan. Pero dahil sa transparent nating proseso, hindi umuubra ang katiwalian,” he added.
He noted that since 2017, DOTr and all its attached agencies have been live-streaming all BAC proceedings on the department’s official Facebook page.
DOTr assured it is already conducting a thorough investigation into the incident to determine the source of the fraudulent e-mail.
It also maintained that neither the Office of the BAC Secretariat nor the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs has issued a Notice of Award to any contractor for the unidentified project.
Meanwhile, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said illegal and unscrupulous activities will be dealt with accordingly and prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.
“Mariing babala sa ating mga contractor – huwag na huwag kayong mang-eenganyo ng katiwalian. Black list kaagad ang katapat ninyo,” Tugade said in the same DOTr statement.
He also advised project bidders to conduct verification checks with DOTr Central Office to ensure documents they receive are authentic. /kga
