Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Cris wants DPWH staff suspended
BUSINESSMAN Crisologo Saavedra is asking the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to place under preventive suspension those Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials earlier charged by the anti-graft office for the P80 million Asean summit surveillance system scam.
In a five-page manifestation before Graft Investigator Sarah Jo Vergara, he cited the need to “safeguard the investigation from being influenced by high-ranking officials (who) are involved in the case” and “to protect the integrity of the documents and to protect witnesses from harassment.”
He also asked that the graft investigator who will eventually handle the formal investigation not limit him or herself to the findings of the three-man panel that conducted the fact-finding investigation into the complaint that he originally filed.
He said the findings that were approved by Ombudsman Director Virginia Santiago did not include all the allegations that he raised and limited itself to whether rules were violated when the DPWH cancelled the supply contract he won in bidding and in favor of a previously disqualified supplier – Triton Communications Inc.
Saavedra also said the findings did not treat the issue of whether Triton, in connivance with the DPWH, overpriced the project or defrauded the government by means that include tailor-fitting the terms of reference (TOR) to favor one supplier by specifying a particular brand of equipment – Motorola – as shown in the way a page from a Motorola brochure was annexed to the terms.
Neither did it treat allegations that the transaction itself was overpriced, he added.
“Triton might not have overpriced their over on the CCTV surveillance equipment and the radio equipment but have overpriced the cost on the engineering, design, supply delivery and system integration, NTC permits and licenses (by charging) DPWH P30,280,177 as compared with the offer of Cebesos/Pelican Joint Venture (of) P1.217 million,” Saavedra said.
He also said the anti-graft office’s findings did not treat his allegations that the supplied equipment were not at par with what the police required as evidenced by the findings of a third-party expert, engineer Jocklyn Parba, and the existence of a complaint by Smart Communication that the cameras interfered with their wireless broadband service.
Excluded
Moreover, he asked that the investigator make sure that only the responsible people get charged, adding that the Final Evaluation Repot (FER) Santiago approved impleaded one Buenaventura Pajo but excluded Assistant Regional Director Pureza Fernandez.
He said Pajo was a member of the bids and awards committee (BAC) but his participation only covered infrastructure projects. It was Fernandez, he said, who was involved in supplies procurement, to include the surveillance camera transaction.
“Fernandez was under instruction by Assistant Regional Director Marlina Alvizo, who is the BAC chairman, not to accept the deliveries of the complainant which was intended for CCTV surveillance cameras as required in the award of the contract to Cebesos/Pelican Joint Venture in order to justify the cancellation of the contract, so they can award the contract to Triton Communications,” he alleged.
The anti-graft office, in an FER, earlier moved to charge former DPWH 7 director Roberto Lala, DPWH 7 attorney Agustinito Hermoso, and Alvizo.
Another case
All three stand as respondents in yet another Asean summit-related controversy also pending before the anti-graft office – the lamppost scam.
The three are joined by engineer Luis Galang, Restituto Diano, Pajo, lawyer 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 scam and were among the 19 public officials preventively suspended upon the orders of Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez for six months last March.
Four other people were impleaded in the original complaint Saavedra lodged but were dropped by the investigation.
There was, according to the panel, no evidence linking engineer Fernandez, Augustus Monico Zafra and Ellynn Banquil to the alleged violations.
Police Insp. Jerry Leopoldo, on the other hand, is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and other law enforcement offices.
