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Sunday, February 08, 2004
Multi-billion Iloilo airport project hits snag
By Benjamin B. Pulta
A RULING by the Department of Justice (DOJ) has declined to draw the line in connection with the bidding process for the New Iloilo Airport Development Project (NIADP), a multi-billion government project which is being partly funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
In a six-page legal opinion, Justice Secretary Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez informed transportation secretary Leandro R. Mendoza that a ruling on the matter would be inappropriate but said the government seems to have the authority to enter into a contract under the new procurement law.
The controversy arose after a House inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the contract awarding came about.
Out of twenty-eight applicant contractors who responded to the invitation for prequalification, three contractors pre-qualified.
The Pre-qualification, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) rejected the bid documents of one of the contractors, Taisei Corporation-Shimizu Corporation-Kajima Corporation joint venture, after Kajima Corp. withdrew from the joint venture at the time of the submission of bids.
The JBIC, however, expressed its disapproval of the PBAC's action and advised the DOTC to re-bid the project.
Advised to resubmit their bids, the three pre-qualified bidders, which include Taisei Corporation-Shimizu Corporation Joint Venture, submitted their bids on August 25, 2003.
However, an investigation on the procurement process issue, the House Committee on Transportation and Communications has pointed out that the DOTC's decision to conduct a re-submission of bids is legally flawed.
The House insists that the DOTC should have continued the bidding process without Taisei Corporation-Shimizu Corporation Joint Venture.
In declining to rule on the matter, the DOJ said the issue affects the substantive rights of private parties, the contractors involved in the case which cannot be bound by the department's opinion.
"This department does not render an opinion or give legal advice on a matter that is justiciable or which may be the subject of a judicial controversy," DOJ's Gutierrez said.
"Resolving the issue would not serve a useful purpose or have practical value, because the department's opinion cannot bind the JBI, whose determination of compliance or non-compliance with its procurement guidelines is crucial in view of the guidelines for procurement under JBIC loans," she pointed out.
The agency chief, however, noted that under the fledgling Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), it is assumed that the officials who act for the Philippine government have the authority to execute the agreements and that they have acted within the scope of their authority.
Under the loan agreement drafted in August 2000, the JBIC has agreed to lend the Philippine government Y14.724 billion.
(February 8, 2004 issue)
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