Capitol told: Answer losing bidder’s petition

The Cebu provincial government and 11 medical suppliers were ordered by the court to answer the petition filed against them by a losing bidder.

Cebu City executive judge Gilbert P. Moises of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 18 issued the order requiring the province and the suppliers to answer the petition filed by Endure Medical Inc. within 10 days after receiving the order.

EMI, a Manila-based company, filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus in court last August.

The company asked the court to nullify the decision by the provincial Bids and Awards Committee declaring them ineligible to join a bidding to supply medical supplies and equipment for the province’s hospitals.

Named respondents were Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, provincial government’s BAC headed by provincial administrator Mark Tolentino and its members Alma Sibonga, Hector Jamora, Jone Siegried Sepe, Melita Labarejos, and provincial legal officers Orvi Ortega and Donato Villa Jr.

Also named as respondents were medical suppliers Berovan Marketing Inc., Blue Sky Trading, Cebu Far Eastern Drugs Inc., RG Meditron Inc., Colonie Enterprises, D&C Drugstore and General Merchandise, Euro-Med Lab Phils., J-Khezznov Trading Industries Inc., Metro Drug Inc., Pharmaceutica Filipina de Visayas, and Zuellig Pharma-Cebu.

EMI was declared ineligible for failure to comply with a technical requirement pursuant to the invitation to bid, which was to submit at least one form of bid security in addition to the bid securing declaration. The bid opening was held on May 5 last year.

EMI said they would have been the lowest bidder had the provincial government’s BAC not disqualified them from joining the bidding and filed a motion for reconsideration.

The motion was denied and the provincial government subsequently awarded the notices of awards to the other medical suppliers.

EMI insisted in its petition that as a bidder, it has the option of submitting only a bid security declaration as a bid security.

EMI also asked the court to order the respondents to jointly pay them P500,000 as nominal damages and P500,000 as attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.

In a phone interview, Ortega confirmed that they received the August 15 order of Judge Moises yesterday and they will submit their answer within 10 days.