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Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Councilor seeks review of Apalit infotech project
By Albert B. Lacanlale
APALIT -- A town councilor here recently urged fellow municipal officials to assess the proposed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project which the municipal mayor wants to implement within his last remaining years in office.
Councilor Sanny D. Mendoza said before adopting the new system, town officials should carefully review the computerization project, which would cost the town hall a whopping P14 million.
Mendoza said the ICT project involves the computerization of revenue generating system at the Municipal Treasurer's Office, Business Licensing Office and the Assessor's Officer.
The project was proposed by three-term mayor Tirso Lacanilao to "employ and provide systematic measure and methodology that shall help stabilize the fluctuating growth rate by the municipal government for the past five years in terms of local generated revenues."
In his letter to the Municipal Council dated March 28, 2006, Lacanilao asked the legislative body to approve a resolution authorizing him to enter into a contract with the Systems and Plans Integrator and Development Corporation (SPIDC) for the implementation of the project.
SPIDC, according to the mayor, is "the bidder who stood out to have submitted the most acceptable technical and financial proposal" for the project.
At the same time, Lacanilao also asked the SB to authorize him to contract a loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in the amount not exceeding P14 million, which is payable in three years.
Mendoza, however, said that the proposed cost of the project may be too much of a burden to the Municipal Hall and could still be trimmed down if the components of the project would be carefully validated.
With an annual income of at least P75 million, Apalit may not need to contract a loan to implement a similar project, especially at a point when the local chief executive is in his last term, he explained.
"We do not want the Apaliteños to think that the town officials gained financially from the project," he said, "so we are asking our fellow public servants to be careful in entering into this project."
Mendoza explained that there is nothing wrong with the project, especially if it would foster transparency in the affairs of the town hall but "everything should be done with due process."
"I have seen how computerization worked in favor of the local government unit, but, let's first check if we are following proper procedures in adopting such system," he said.
In their recent meetings, Mendoza has asked the Municipal Council members, presided by Vice Mayor Pablo "Pol" Nabong, to schedule an executive session with Lacanilao to discuss the pros and cons of the project.
However, he claimed, his request was disregarded and the council moved on to pass Lacanilao's preferred resolutions.
Mendoza further alleged that one week before Lacanilao's letter, a bidding on the project has already been conducted.
Moreover, the councilor said that the town has an existing contract for a similar project with Logical Information and Communication System, Inc. (Logics), an ICT company, on July 19, 2005.
The contract has yet to be nullified though LOGICS has failed to comply with the agreement.
"There are laws which we need to follow to prevent any legal implications resulting from careless actions," he said.
(April 18, 2006 issue)
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