SC stops Manila court’s TRO on BOC move to cancel NSW2 deal

THE Supreme Court stopped the Manila Regional Trial Court of Manila from implementing its order that barred the Bureau of Customs (BOC)  from cancelling the P650-million contract to joint venture of Omniprime Marketing Inc and Intrasoft International, Inc. for the Philippine National Single Window 2 (PNSW2) project.

In a two-page resolution, the high court’s Second Division chaired by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, said the restraining order is effective immediately.

“After deliberation on the petition…assailing the Omnibus Order dated Aug. 24, 2015 of the Regional Trial Court Branch 47 of Manila…in which, among others, granted herein respondents’ application for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction and the issuance of an injunctive writ…the Court, without necessarily giving due course thereto…hereby issues a temporary restraining order, effective immediately and continuing until further orders from this Court, enjoining and restraining the respondents , the RTC Branch 47, Manila, their representatives, agents or other persons acting on their behalf from enforcing and implementing the assailed Omnibus Order dated August 24, 2015,” the resolution reads.

The high court also ordered Omniprime and Intrasoft to comment on the petition filed by BOC and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) within 10 days.

The case was elevated to the high court by BOC Commissioner Alberto Lina and DBM Procurement Service Executive Director Jose Tomas Syquia challenging the Manila Court’s order.

The injunction stopped the government from implementing the May 6, 2015 letter aborting the competitive bidding for the computerization program and  the May 7, 2015 cancellation issued  by Syquia.

The trial court also directed the BOC and the DBM to continue with the remaining procurement  process of signing the contract and to issue to Omniprime the notice to proceed with the project.

In prohibiting the government from conducting another bidding, the Manila Court said the right to be awarded with the project is already clear and present, were it not for the cancellation and with absence of the grounds provided for by law.

The trial court found meritorious  Omniprime’s petition for injunctive relief as its rights as a bidder  “appear, from the evidence presented” by both parties, to have been “unduly and unfairly violated” by the sudden cancellation of the procurement process for  the PNSW 2 project, which is part of Customs’ modern integrated enhanced customs processing system (IECPS).

Omniprime sought redress before the trial court to stop Lina’s decision to cancel the contract which it  said has been successfully bidded out by the DBM.

Lawyer Harry Roque, counsel for Omniprime,  claimed that  “one of the five losing bidders in the project, E-Konek, is a company where Lina has a 96.48 percent stake.”

Annabelle Margaroli, president of mobile IT solutions provider Omni Prime Marketing Inc., had also lodged  a plunder complaint against Lina , former Customs Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. and former deputy commissioner Primo Aguas for conflict of interest for arbitrarily voiding the contract which had been approved during the term of former Customs commissioner John Sevilla.

The project which was opened for bidding by the DBM last year has seen six joint ventures submitting eligibility documents but only Omni Prime and its Greek partner was deemed eligible.

The project along with a national single window – collectively dubbed as PNSW 2 – was seen by the BOC as a way to curb rampant smuggling in the country.

It would establish a central database system that tracks in real time all customs procedures nationwide. It also aims to be a fully electronic, paperless and human contact-free system of recording and monitoring customs transactions.

After cancelling the awarding of the contract to the petitioner, the BOC awarded the same to E-Konek Pilipinas, the existing service provider of the BOC where Lina and his family supposedly hold a 96.48 percent stake.

E-Konek president is former BOC Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr.