Governor, BAC seek award for Conequip Phil.

THE Capitol’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)  has decided to go ahead and endorse the   award of a P250-million contract for the supply of brand new light and heavy equipment to Conequip Philippines.

The BAC, in a  Nov. 23 report approved by Gov. Hilario Davide III, denied appeals by two other bidders which were disqualified for not meeting specifications for the equipment.

RDAK Transport Equipment gave  the lowest  calculated bid on Sept. 7 and  Civic Merchandising, Inc. offered the second lowest bid.

However,  during the post-qualification stage,  a review showed that there were equipment units that did not comply  with specifications as listed in the bid documents, said the BAC.

The Capitol is  buying  boom trucks, water tankers, dump trucks, tractors, forklifts,    excavators , payloaders,  graders,  and vibratory rollers for use in provincial road construction and maintenance.

Conequip Philippines, Inc. is the previous supplier of Suroy-Suroy  coaster buses made in China.

In a Nov. 24 letter,    BAC chairman Mark Tolentino asked the  ad hoc commmittee of Provincial Board Member Gigi Sanchez to include in the PB agenda authorization for  the governor to sign the supply contract with Conequip Philippines.

An earlier request for this  was made on Nov. 6 but was put hold when Civic Merchandising and  RDAK both asked for reconsideration.

The BAC denied both requests in Nov. 23 resolutions carried unanimously by the committee and approved by Governor Davide.

One  resolution said Civic Merchandising offered  a vibratory roller  with operating weight of 11,932 kilograms but the province needed units that weigh 12,500 kg.

In a separate resolution, the committee said RDAK  was post-disqualified for  non-compliance with  requirements. In a review made by the BAC secretariat and Technical Working Group,

“RDAK’s specifications, as offered, were different from what were needed,” said the resolution.It cited  requirements for  4 x 2 dump trucks . The BAC said the province‘s specifications were “more advantageous to the Government in the long run as they would result in lower fuel consumption and more loading capacity as compared to RDAK’s equipment specifications.”

The committee also noted a discrepancy in a legal document.    RDAK failed to submit the original copy of the tax clearance for Nelson S. Lee Construction, its potential joint venture partner,  despite several requests.  When the committee checked the BIR’s website, “it was discovered that the BIR has not issued a tax clearance for NS Lee Construction” so the document submitted to the BAC was “therefore questionable”.

The committee said that under R.A. 9184, or the Government Procurement Act, both RDAK and its partner “can be held administratively liable for the submission of falsified documents”.

Even without going into their bid offer, “they will still have to be post-disqualified for its failure to comply with the leqal requirements”.

RDAK, a known supplier of Japanese brands like Isuzu and Nissan, was the first to file on November 10 a motion for reconsideration.  Only three companies  submitted bids.

Since Civic and RDAK were disqualified,  Conequip was recommended for the P250-million contract.