Does it take the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) to investigate whether the Capitol’s use of services of the Black Pearl Security Agency is aboveboard?
This option was suggested by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III when questions arose over why the agency’s guards were deployed in the Capitol premises after the termination of the contract with the previous security agency, Tactical.
By offering this option, Davide may have wanted to show that he has no problem with having the moves of the executive branch discussed and examined in the legislature.
No problem because no final decision to hire the agency has been made yet. The bidding process still has to be wrapped up.
According to Tactical, they were only verbally notified by newly installed Provincial General Services Office chief Jone Siegfried Sepe that their services were terminated and that Blackpearl Security Agency was to take over last Sunday, June 1.
It was also reported that Black Pearl’s guards were unprepared to take over the job, with some of its guards lacking firearms. The contract for security guard services includes the Capitol and other provincial government offices like hospitals.
According to Davide and his Provincial Legal Officer Orvi Ortega, Blackpearl, Tactical and another security agency still have to undergo post-bidding qualification assessment to determine the authenticity of the requirements they have submitted for bidding.
While waiting for a final choice to be made, Black Pearl stepped in and fielded its guards, a gesture accepted by the governor’s office.
The premature step has invited questions.
Without a contract approved, why did Black Pearl begin its services? Governor Davide himself answered that the Capitol had to avoid a gap in security services and that whatever services were rendered by Black Pearl during the interim period would be paid. That’s a reasonable arrangement.
What happens if Black Pearl doesn’t win the contract? That’s the risk the security agency has to take.
At the start of his administration Davide and his ally, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale made a big issue of the millions of pesos owed by the previous governor, Gwen Garcia, to contractors and companies that rendered services to the province without having the projects or contracts reviewed and approved by the Cebu Provincial Board.
We take Davide’s offer to have the security guard setup examined by the PB as a good faith offer of transparency. But it’s also premature to investigate since no deal has been finalized yet. When a contract is awarded, the merits of the decision of the executive branch can come under full scrutiny.