Court halts BOC computerization

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A Manila court has granted the petition of a losing bidder to stop temporarily the implementation of a contract to computerize the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Judge Josefina Siscar of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 55 granted the writ of preliminary injunction filed by Omni Prime Marketing Inc. against Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon and members of the special bids and awards committee headed by Deputy Commissioner Peter Manzano.

Biazon has said the computerization of the BOC would improve the clearance and inventory systems at the agency and boost its capability to fight smuggling.

Omni Prime and the joint venture of Dubai-based Webb Fontaine Group FZ-LLC and local firm Global Resource for Outsourced Workers (GROW) Inc. were among the bidders declared eligible to submit technical and financial proposals. Omni Prime was subsequently disqualified in the technical proposal.

The project, called Integrated Philippine Customs System, was awarded to Webb Fontaine for a P418-million contract price.

Omni Prime said it later learned that the joint-venture agreement submitted by Webb Fontaine had not been notarized by lawyer Pedro Genato but by a Joel Lapinig using Genato’s name. Lapinig also admitted that he notarized the omnibus sworn statements of Ara Shamirzayan of Webb Fontaine and Monico Jacob of Grow without either having appeared before him.

The court said Omni Prime wrote letters in April and May to Manzano asking for reconsideration but the notice of award was still issued in June without any action on the Omni Prime’s motion.

Thus, Omni Prime said it resorted to asking the Manila RTC to review the BOC’s decision with an application for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction.

A TRO was issued early in July by Manila RTC Branch 173 Judge Armando Yanga.

Webb Fontaine as respondent-intervenor has asked the court to dismiss the case but the court said that “while it is true that petitioner (Omni Prime) was disqualified, it cannot be denied that it suffered some damage when Webb Fontaine and Grow Inc. submitted their bid using spurious documents.”

Webb Fontaine argued that Omni Prime could not claim any clear and positive right to be entitled to a TRO and writ of preliminary injunction.

The court said there was an urgency to act on the petition since the notice of award, contract agreement and notice to proceed had been issued by the BOC to Webb Fontaine.

The court ordered the respondents to stop the implementation of the Notice of Award, including all acts subsequent to the execution of the Contract Agreement and Notice to Proceed until the court’s final determination of the issue in the case.