2 groups vie for LTO-IT project

MANILA, Philippines - Two groups, including a unit of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), are vying for the P3.44-billion Land Transportation Office (LTO) information technology system project.

Rene Limcaoco, undersecretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), has issued a general bid bulletin requiring the tandem of Indra Sistemas SA and MPIC’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., as well as the joint venture of Kaisa Consulting Co. Inc., FPT Information System Corp. and NTT Data Corp. to present their proof of concept.

 â€œPlease be informed that only bidders who have been declared eligible on the first stage of the bidding are required to present their proof of concept,” Limcaoco stated.

Other disqualified bidders by the joint Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the DOTC and LTO have filed motions for reconsideration.

Companies that expressed interest for the project include Stradcom Corp., IBM Philippines, Innove Communications Inc., HTC Corp., HP Company, Datarail Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Computer Sciences Corp. of America, Eurolink Inc., Oberthur Technologies, Cyberlink Corp., Microgenesis Corp., Eastern Business Global Solution, Total Information Management Corp., LRA Pacific Management Consulting Inc., New City Industrial Creative Co. Ltd, Netpoleon Phils. Inc., and Jibe Technology Inc.

Also interested were Fritz & Macziol Asia Inc., ESGS Inc., GeniSystem Solutions Inc., Avesco Marketing, Multifold Links Inc., Rural Net Inc., Questronix Corp., EBI Solutions, Integrated Computer Solutions, Roll Base Co., Network Performance Inc, The Value System Phils. Inc., CEC International Co. Ltd., ASI Co., Omniprime Corp., Comfac Corp., and Cyber Research Corp.

“To clarify, requests for reconsideration filed by the disqualified bidders are still under deliberation. The BAC shall duly inform bidders whose requests have been reconsidered, at the soonest possible time,” Limcaoco added.

The joint DOTC and LTO committee is expected to look into the proof of concept of both groups before going to bidding proper for the project.

The new IT system would provide a viable and long-term solution to address the current system’s issues.  The previous LTO-IT system of Stradcom, which has been running for 13 years, is no longer responsive to current land transportation regulation requirements.

Once the new LTO-IT system is in place, it would make it easier for authorities to recover stolen vehicles, trace smuggled vehicles, prevent double registration and monitor unregistered vehicles.

The DOTC has decided to slash the cost of the LTO-IT system project to P3.44 billion instead of P8.2 billion after two failed biddings. The project would instead be undertaken in two stages.

The DOTC declared a failure of bidding last July after the financial proposals submitted by the three bidders - Digitext Asia Corp., Fritz and Macziol Asia, and Eurolink Network - failed to pass the post-qualification proceedings in line with the provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act.

The DOTC was forced to suspend indefinitely the bidding for the project scheduled last May 12 due to the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 213.

In an order dated April 11, Mandaluyong RTC Branch 213 Judge Carlos Valenzuela issued a 20-day TRO preventing the respondents in the case from bidding out the project.

It would be recalled that lawyer Salvador Belaro filed a 17-page complaint with application for TRO and writ of preliminary injunction against government officials led by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and LTO chief Alfonso Tan Jr.