ANOMALOUS BIDDING NG KALIWA DAM

Isama sa ‘onerous’ contracts  – Carpio

NANAWAGAN si da­ting Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio sa pamahalaan na  isama ang umano’y maanomalyang bidding ng P12.2-B Kaliwa Dam project sa Infanta, Quezon sa pag­rebisa nito sa tinatawag na ‘onerous’ contracts sa pagitan ng gobyerno at ng mga pribadong kompanya.

Ayon kay Carpio, ang ­konstruksiyon ng Kaliwa Dam ay mailalarawan bilang  ­‘mother of onerous contracts’, batay na rin, aniya, sa  Commission on Audit (COA) me­morandum sa  bidding.

Aniya, natuklasan ng COA na moro-moro lamang ang isinagawang bidding.

“The Communist Party of China, which controls the three bidders, already chose from the very start CEEC as the winning bidder and instructed the other two bidders to simply disqualify themselves. The bidding was ‘lutong macau,’” dagdag ni Carpio.

Sa audit observation me­morandum na may petsang June 10, 2019, sinabi ng COA na nabigo ang technical working group (TWG) ng Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) na makapagsagawa ng nararapat na bidding at vetting procedures bago nito iginawad ang poyekto sa China Energy Engineering Corp. (CEEC) noong December 2018.

“We recommend that (MWSS) Management demand explanation from the members of the TWG for acceptance of the two bidders/contractors in spite of non-compliance with vetting/pre- qualification requirements,” nakasaad sa memo na ginawa nina officer-in-charge audit team leader Rency Meryl Marquez at officer-in-charge supervising auditor Ma. Nancy Uy at naka-address kay MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco.

“In summary, it can be deduced that the two bidders/contractors were included merely to comply with the ‘at least three bidders’ requirement as stated under the Procurement Law. Likewise, the procurement of the project is with the semblance of a competitive bidding when in reality, it is a negotiated contract from the inception of the bidding process,” ayon pa sa memo ng COA.

Sa imbestigasyon ng audit team ay lumabas na nagsagawa ng shortlist ang TWG ng MWSS at kalaunan ay tinanggap ang bid applications ng tatlong Chinese firms – CEEC, Consortium of Guangdong Foreign Construction at Power China Ltd. – bagama’t dalawa sa mga ito ay hindi nakatugon sa pre-qualification requirements na naunang itinakda ng MWSS para sa proyekto.

Ayon sa COA, nabigo ang CEEC at ang Consortium of Guangdong na ipakita na nakasunod sila sa years of experience sa design at engineering works, gayundin sa construction works tulad ng itinatakda para sa proyekto.

Sa ilalim ng panuntunan ng MWSS, ang mga kompanya lamang na matagumpay na nakakumpleto sa nakalipas na  20 taon ng design, engineering at construction works para sa isang dam at conve­yance structure na katulad ang  complexity ng panukalang Kaliwa Dam project ang maaaring magkuwalipika sa bidding.

Sinabi ng state audit body na ang bid documents na isinumite ng CEEC at Consortium of Guangdong ay hindi nagsasaad ng petsa ng completion ng ipinalalagay na ­hydro stations at dam projects na sinasabi nilang isinagawa.

“The TWG should have been more circumspect to verify whether the reported projects were actually completed to establish the validity and existence thereof and to attain the purpose of vetting which is to evaluate whether the nominated Chinese contractors meet the minimum technical qualifications,” nakasaad pa sa audit memorandum.

Anang audit body, ang Consortium of Guangdong ay na-disqualify sa first stage ng bidding procedure dahil sa kawalan ng kinakaila­ngang mga dokumento tulad ng business permit, Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) license, Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) certificate at va­lid Single Largest Completed Contract o SLCC.

Na-disqualify naman ang Power China Ltd. sa second stage ng bidding nang mag-alok ito ng mas mataas ng 6.91 percent sa Approved Budget for Contract (ABC).

Nagtataka ang COA kung bakit nag-bid ang Power China ng mataas gayong ang lahat ng nominated bidders ay nauna nang inabisuhan na ang anumang bid na mas mataas sa ABC ay awtomatikong mababasura sa bid opening.

“As a result, only the China Energy Engineering Corp. Ltd. qualified, which is questionable considering that the two bidders were disqualified in the 1st and 2nd stages of the procurement process due to seemingly intentional purpose of the bidders not to comply with the TWG requirements and qualify as among those responsive bidders,” dagdag ng COA.