Capitol P227M equipment purchase: 2 notices of award was just a ‘typo error’

It was just a typographical error.

This was the explanation of Jone Siegfried Sepe, a member of the Cebu provincial government’s bids and awards committee (BAC) and head of the Provincial General Services Office, in response to the anonymous complaint lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman against Gov. Hilario Davide III for allegedly signing two Notices of Award (NOA)for the purchase of P227 million worth of heavy equipment.

Sepe said the document for the NOA was a template provided by Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), wherein the variable information and details, such as the date, are merely typed into it.

Sepe said the date typed in the first NOA, Oct. 27, 2015, was erroneous thus they immediately had it rectified to reflect the correct date of Dec. 7, 2016.

Except for the dates, the two NOAs had the same addressee, Mr. Ralph Clinton U. Tio, the managing director of the joint venture ConEquip Philippines Inc./RDAK Transport Equipment Inc., and details, such as the name of the winning bidder and the amount of the bid.

He said the misunderstanding started when when the Provincial Board members asked for a copy of the NOA and was given to them was the copy of the first NOA with the erroneous date.

Sepe also clarified that the NOA is normally done simultaneous with BAC resolution recommending the award of the winning bid but it will not be served to the winning bidder until they have secured the authority from the PB.

Sepe also stressed that Davide has not yet signed the contract for the P227-million heavy equipment project since the PB has still to authorize the governor to sign the contract, although the board already voted on Dec. 19, 2016 to give Davide the authority to award the project.

The two NOAs were among the documents included in the anonymous complaint sent to Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas last December 22, alleging that Davide should be held accountable for approving the recommendation of the BAC without counter-checking its conduct of the bidding.

Davide, for his part, said the signing of the NOA was just procedural.

“Kanang pag pirma (the signing of the) Notice of Awards, that’s really part of the procedure. Pirmahan nako, mo abot (I sign and it is brought to the)sa Provincial Board for authority. Now, if they find something wrong, they have questions, they can always ask the BAC,” he said.

After almost two years since it was initiated and with the first bidding subsequently declared a failure, the Cebu provincial government is finally moving forward with its procurement of light and heavy equipment to construct and repair provincial roads.

The PB authorized Davide to enter into a contract ConEquip Philippines Inc./RDAK Transport Equipment Inc. in December last year after the company was declared the lowest bidder among four companies.