ANGELES CITY – Pampanga First District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin has initiated a Congressional inves-tigation on the alleged anomalous bidding of the P309-million Terminal I upgrading project at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), saying it was “pre-arranged.”
“We are not questioning the manner by which they conducted the bidding. The problem is that it was reportedly pre-arranged favoring the winning bidder,” said Lazatin in an interview on Tuesday.
He recently filed House Resolution No. 1488, “urging the Committee on Bases Conversion and Committee on Transportation to conduct an investigation concerning the P309-million bidding conducted for the upgrading of Terminal 1 of the DMIA at the Clark Freeport Zone.”
“Araja Construction was allegedly provided by the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) official with a list of required equipment for the terminal project which enabled the contractor to get assurance from the supplier in the United States that the equipment could be delivered in time for a very limited timetable for the project completion,” said the resolution.
It added that the “allege anomaly is deemed unfair to other bidders and against the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act.”
In a statement, CIAC President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano stressed that “nothing was rigged, everything was done above board.”
He said the bidding followed the prescribed rules and regulations of a competitive public bidding pursuant to R.A. 9184.
“Just for the sake of clearing the air of any doubts on the integrity of the bidding conducted, we would welcome any inquiry to be made by Congress and we would assure them of our utmost cooperation,” he said. Luciano also said they made sure that all interested bidders for the project have a chance to participate, “that’s why we advertised our Invitation To Bid in not one but two of the most widely read national dailies in the country today (Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star).”
He also denied favoring one bidder over the others.
“What really happened was that in view of the urgency of the need to expand the DMIA terminal 1, CIAC on its own conducted inquiries and research on how to fast-track the procurement and delivery of necessary equipment, especially the passenger boarding bridges,” said Luciano.
“We found out that from the date they are ordered to their manufacture and assembly and up to their shipment and delivery, the whole process of procuring the passenger boarding bridges will take about six months.”
“But then, if the bridges were available on stock, the delivery and installation will just take about three months. There are many manufacturers of these bridges from different countries. That is why interested bidders may source or order these bridges anywhere in the world. Having these in mind, we drew up the Terms of Reference for the project which contain the construction schedule and target delivery dates of passenger boarding bridges. And that is how we were able to assure Subic Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) Secretary Ed Pamintuan that we will be able to finish the terminal expansion project on our agreed target date or during the first quarter of next year,” Luciano explained.
“The TOR for the project was available to all contractors interested in making a bid. It is not true that there were bidders who were not given the list of needed equipment. That is just impossible because everything must be written in the TOR, including the list of equipment, otherwise we won’t be able to demand the delivery of the equipment from a winning bidder,” said Luciano.
For his part, Lazatin said “I won’t buy the statements of Luciano.” He added that the equipments used at airports “are tailor-made and not available over the counter.”
The first-term solon said “Luciano still has lots of explaining to do, especially during the course of the inquiry.”
“We are not questioning the manner by which they conducted the bidding. The problem is that it was reportedly pre-arranged favoring the winning bidder,” said Lazatin in an interview on Tuesday.
He recently filed House Resolution No. 1488, “urging the Committee on Bases Conversion and Committee on Transportation to conduct an investigation concerning the P309-million bidding conducted for the upgrading of Terminal 1 of the DMIA at the Clark Freeport Zone.”
“Araja Construction was allegedly provided by the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) official with a list of required equipment for the terminal project which enabled the contractor to get assurance from the supplier in the United States that the equipment could be delivered in time for a very limited timetable for the project completion,” said the resolution.
It added that the “allege anomaly is deemed unfair to other bidders and against the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act.”
In a statement, CIAC President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano stressed that “nothing was rigged, everything was done above board.”
He said the bidding followed the prescribed rules and regulations of a competitive public bidding pursuant to R.A. 9184.
“Just for the sake of clearing the air of any doubts on the integrity of the bidding conducted, we would welcome any inquiry to be made by Congress and we would assure them of our utmost cooperation,” he said. Luciano also said they made sure that all interested bidders for the project have a chance to participate, “that’s why we advertised our Invitation To Bid in not one but two of the most widely read national dailies in the country today (Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star).”
He also denied favoring one bidder over the others.
“What really happened was that in view of the urgency of the need to expand the DMIA terminal 1, CIAC on its own conducted inquiries and research on how to fast-track the procurement and delivery of necessary equipment, especially the passenger boarding bridges,” said Luciano.
“We found out that from the date they are ordered to their manufacture and assembly and up to their shipment and delivery, the whole process of procuring the passenger boarding bridges will take about six months.”
“But then, if the bridges were available on stock, the delivery and installation will just take about three months. There are many manufacturers of these bridges from different countries. That is why interested bidders may source or order these bridges anywhere in the world. Having these in mind, we drew up the Terms of Reference for the project which contain the construction schedule and target delivery dates of passenger boarding bridges. And that is how we were able to assure Subic Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) Secretary Ed Pamintuan that we will be able to finish the terminal expansion project on our agreed target date or during the first quarter of next year,” Luciano explained.
“The TOR for the project was available to all contractors interested in making a bid. It is not true that there were bidders who were not given the list of needed equipment. That is just impossible because everything must be written in the TOR, including the list of equipment, otherwise we won’t be able to demand the delivery of the equipment from a winning bidder,” said Luciano.
For his part, Lazatin said “I won’t buy the statements of Luciano.” He added that the equipments used at airports “are tailor-made and not available over the counter.”
The first-term solon said “Luciano still has lots of explaining to do, especially during the course of the inquiry.”
