THE Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) Board of Directors have yet to decide on the bid of Cebu-based Mactan Rock Industries Inc. (MRII) and its consortium which pre-qualified in the bulk water supply project of the water district.
Baciwa Board Chair Maria Aida Torre said she lengthily discussed with other directors several matters and concerns, including the offer of the lone bidder for the Injection Points 1 and 2 of the bulk water supply project.
Injection Point 1 is located at the ground reservoir in Hacienda Loygoy, Barangay Granada requiring 9,842 cubic meters. Injection Point 2, which needs 6,500 cubic meters, is situated at the ground reservoir in Barangay Mansilingan.
MRII’s bid price for Injection Point 1 per cubic meter is P8.85, and P9.85 for Injection Point 2, which is below the Baciwa approved bidding capital of P10.
Torre said they were not able to reach a definite action on the bid during their meeting Thursday.
Director David Villanueva said, "We decided not to vote on Mactan Rock Industries due to unresolved issues."
Meanwhile, Utilities Consumers Alliance of Negros (UCAN) legal counsel Vicente Petierre III said he does not believe the Board will disapprove the recommendation of the Bids and Awards Committee and the Technical Working Group to accept the bid of MRII.
UCAN is expecting that the directors of Baciwa will approve it based on their earlier statements, he said.
Petierre said they are waiting for the final decision of the Baciwa directors and they will ask for necessary documents like the notice of award, among others.
Baciwa could require the MRII to enter into a joint undertaking once an award is given and a contract is finalized.
Petierre, however, said, “I do not think there is a need for such undertaking since a contract is already executory. If you fail to perform the terms and conditions in the contract you will be held liable.”
It is a good thing if there will be more safety nets, he said, but UCAN is not concerned with the safety nets but with the performance level of MRII.
It has been reported that MRII allegedly failed to deliver its contracted daily minimum volume of 5,000 cubic meters to Dumangas-Barotac Nuevo Water (DBNWD) District in Iloilo, which reportedly demanded P49 million from MRII as penalty.
However, Antonio Tompar, chief executive officer of MRII, denied that their company failed to comply with its commitment to DBNWD.
Petierre said if the problem involving the DBNWD does not exist, then MRII can be considered a very good supplier who can deliver.
“If there is a problem, you can question the capability of MRII. They should meticulously look into MRII if indeed it can deliver the required volume of water needed by Baciwa,” he added.