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Monday, February 27, 2006
'Dubious' fertilizer purchase alarms dads
By Rimaliza Opiña
FIVE Baguio City councilors urged City Auditor Julius Fagayan to look into the alleged anomalous transaction on the purchase of fish liquid fertilizer and file charges against those involved before the Office of the Ombudsman if warranted.
This developed after it appeared that the liquid fertilizers purchased on May 25, 2005 did not pass through the normal bidding process and that the cost turned out to be higher than the prevailing market prices, as gleaned by the audit observation memorandum (AOM) of the Commission on Audit (COA).
Councilors Edilberto Tenefrancia, Erdolfo Balajadia, Leandro Yangot Jr., Elmer Datuin and Rocky Thomas Balisong said a deeper investigation is needed so that those involved could be charged.
"The transaction is apparently anomalous and violative of laws against graft and corruption, and must not escape the attention of the City Government even if it did not involve city funds," the councilors said in a proposed resolution.
"It is hereby resolved to take note of the action so far taken by the city auditor, in respect to the apparently anomalous transaction, commend his office for investigating the transaction, urge the Office of the City Auditor to pursue the investigation further, without fear or favor and, as the evidence warrants, submit the result of his investigation to the OMB for further action," a portion of the proposal stated.
The City Government, then using trust funds belonging to the National Government, reportedly purchased from Star Anvil Trading 1,333 liters of fish liquid fertilizer worth P1,799,550.
The fertilizer was supposed to be used by the City Environment and Parks Management Office (Cepmo) to tend the nurseries and gardens of the city's parks.
But Fagayan said in the prevailing market prices, the fertilizer is priced for only P105 to P250 per liter, which is far more expensive than the purchase amount of the City Government at P1,350 per liter.
Last June 2, Mayor Braulio Yaranon approved the payment of the fertilizer as seen in disbursement voucher number APD-197 and check number 40247.
The request for the purchase of the fertilizers came on Mar. 16, 2005. Yaranon, on the same day, approved the purchase request. But as early as March 14, a certification on the availability of the product was already available and on March 15, or a day before the request was made, an affidavit of disclosure of no relationship was signed.
The AOM revealed the pre-bid conference for the procurement of the items were conducted only on Apr. 26, 2005 while the submission of the abstract or summary of bids was already submitted on April 14, almost two weeks earlier than the pre-bid conference.
"The dates appearing in the documents that supported the payment of the purchased fertilizers led us to conclude that no actual bidding was conducted in violation of Republic Act (RA) 9184 or the Government Procurement and Reform Act," Fagayan said in a letter to Yaranon dated Jan. 30, 2006.
Furthermore, Star Anvil Trading is not a post qualified bidder, Fagayan said, because the chairman of Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) did not even sign the abstract of bids.
The mayor said he merely acted on the purchase "on the understanding that the BAC had acted in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations."
(February 27, 2006 issue)
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