Thursday, December 13, 2007 Ex-DPWH chief, 9 others charged
CRIMINAL and administrative complaints were filed yesterday against 10 Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials involved in the Asean Summit preparations last year.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas fact-finding investigation found sufficient evidence in a complaint filed businessman Crisologo Saavedra that bidding rules may have been bent in yet another Asean Summit-related expenditure—the purchase of P83 million worth of surveillance equipment.
“It can be concluded that there is prima facie evidence that the procuring entity violated the provisions of the Procurement Act of 2003 and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” said the anti-graft office panel in a final evaluation report (FER) released yesterday.
A separate administrative complaint for grave misconduct is also being instituted.
Those charged include former DPWH 7 director Robert Lala, former assistant director Marlina Alvizo and DPWH Regional Attorney Hermoso.
All three stand as respondents in yet another 12th Asean summit-related controversy also pending before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas—the overpriced purchase of P365 million worth of lampposts.
The three are joined by engineer Luis Galang, Restituto Diano, Buenaventura Pajo, Atty. Ayaon Manggis, Merilyn Ojeda, Cresencio Bagolor and Teresita Bernido.
Except for Manggis, Ojeda and Bernido, all other co-respondents are likewise impleaded in the lamppost mess and were among the 19 public officials preventively suspended upon the orders of Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez for six months effective last March.
Four other people were dropped by the investigation conducted by Associate Graft Investigators Roderick Blazo, Elmer Gutierrez and Jocelyn Dacumos and approved by Ombudsman Director Virginia Santiago.
There was, according to the panel, no evidence linking engineer Pureza Fernandez, Augustus Monico Zafra and Ellynn Banquil to the alleged violations.
Chief Insp. Gerry Leopoldo was also named in the complaint but his case is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices, not the Visayas anti-graft office.
DWPH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane’s name was also dragged into the controversy, but the anti-graft office found no evidence linking him to the mess.
The investigation surrounding the DPWH’s purchase of the 40 security cameras for the Asean summit last January stemmed from the complaint filed by Saavedra, the supposed winning bidder.
The allegations include of procurement rules violation, overpricing in the purchase and the eventual delivery of inferior supplies.
Saavedra, in his complaint, narrated that he submitted the lowest bid to supply not only the camera units but the system that links them together.
The contract, however, got awarded to a previously disqualified bidder, Triton Communications Corp.
Saavedra alleged that this was because he refused to turn over a certain percentage of the sale to certain DPWH officials.
In a subsequent interview, Saavedra had said that Triton agreed to the payoff and, as a reward, earned the right to supply the surveillance equipment.
But, in order to hold on to an acceptable profit margin, tweaking had to be done on the individual prices of the items to be purchased.
Likewise, a cheaper-to-purchase but expensive-to-maintain system was delivered. It used broadband wireless Internet signal to carry a low-resolution and low-frame-rate video from each of the 40 cameras in the system to a central viewing terminal based inside the PNP Regional Office 7.
The allegation was denied by Lala in a previous interview.
He had said the cancellation of Saavedra’s contract in favor of Triton was because Saavedra was not able to deliver his supplies on time. Time was of the essence because the Asean summit opening date was fast approaching.
Saavedra however countered that this was because the inspection and acceptance team was never convened.
According to the fact-finding panel, the negotiated procurement with Triton was not justified.
Based on the procurement law, the delays that Saavedra allegedly incurred were still within limit. Moreover, delays don’t justify the cancellation of an award, only the imposition of fines.
Saavedra tried to stop the first payment to Triton while the investigation was still on-going by filing an injunction case at the Regional Trial Court but it was denied.
Triton was subsequently able to secure payment.
Saavedra said Leopoldo, who is assigned to the PNP Regional Office Communication Electronics section, allegedly signed the certification in early December that allowed Triton to collect P62,892,666.66.
Saavedra said Leopoldo didn’t have the authority to issue certifications and filed a separate complaint against him.
After this, then PNP Regional Office 7 Chief Silverio Alarcio Jr. committed to no longer issue certifications regarding the cameras to hold off further payments until after the anti-graft office wraps up its probe.
But the procedure, Saavedra was repeated last June and uncovered in a July 6, 2007 conference that Santiago called after having been alerted by the manager of the Land Bank of the Philippines that an additional P15 million was released to Triton. (KNR)
