Ombudsman urged to identify, charge gov’t execs in license plate contract anomaly

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A consumer group filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman against government officials who took part in the bidding for the P 3.8-billion contract for the supply of motor vehicle license plates.

In a 19-page complaint, a copy of which were made public Monday, Action for Consumerism and Transparency for Nation  (ACTION) led by Vito Gaspar and Enrico C. Silo asked Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to identify and eventually charge officials of the Department  of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) who are  members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), the BAC Secretariat and the  Technical Working Group (TWG).

They also named in their complaint two firms, the Netherlands’ based J. Knieriem B.V. Goes (JKG) and its local arm Power Plates Development Concepts, Inc., for allegedly submitting fraudulent financial eligibility documents during a two-day marathon session last May 6 and 7

“It is… imperative that foreign corporations are made to respect Philippine laws and be held criminally accountable for flouting Philippine procurement laws, through its submission of fraudulent financial documents.” the consumer group said.

Under present rule a bidder must submit a computation of its Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) or a commitment from a Universal or Commercial Bank to extend a credit line in its favor if awarded the contract for this Project (CLC).

However, upon closer look at documents, JKG has no capacity to fulfil the obligations  had it won the contract.

“It is furthermore imperative that these John Does of the DOTC and LTO who are members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC),the BAC Secretariat and the Technical Working Group (TWG), be made to account for the qualification of JKG despite the submission of fraudulent documents and to be made to ensure that the financial qualification documents of Industrias Samar’t SA that have been submitted are authentic copies of the original and its joint venture is financially capable of undertaking the project.” they added.

“More disturbing is the fact that the department is fully aware of the urgency of the project with the mounting backlog in the issuance of Motor Vehicle License Plates, a perennial problem since 2009 caused by the inability of the suppliers to deliver the goods as scheduled.”

The group urged Morales to preventively suspend the officials involved and that “after hearing and preliminary investigation, Respondents DOTC and LTO John Does be criminally charged before the Sandiganbayan for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and such other laws violated by them as supported by the averments in this Affidavit-Complaint.