CoA affirms disallowance of partial payment for Cebu street lighting project
The Commission on Audit has ordered the liable officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Central Visayas office to return P43.95-million paid to the contractor of street lights in Cebu City and Mandaue City without bidding.
In a two-page decision, the CoA affirmed the disallowance of the partial payment already made to GAMPIK Construction and Development, Inc., ruling the street lighting project illegal for not going through public bidding.
It also directed the CoA Prosecution and Litigation Office to refer the case to the Office of the Ombudsman for possible charges “against the persons responsible for the procurement in violation of existing laws, rules and regulations.”
The DPWH regional office skipped public bidding and entered into the contracts on September 2006 in preparation for the fast-approaching Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in January 2007. The total cost of the contracts was P54.94 million.
Although officials cited the lack of time in foregoing public bidding, the CoA said it still did not justify the resort to negotiated procurement. The mode, it said, is allowed only in times of emergencies where there is imminent danger.
“The hosting of the ASEAN Summit is not a disaster. Since there is no calamity at the time the projects were implemented, there is no danger to speak of,” the decision read.
The CoA also cited noncompliance with the requirement to post the notice of negotiated contracts at the Government Electronic Procurement System (G-EPS) website./Inquirer.net Vince Nonato
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
