Garcia, Sitoy hit P250M equipment deal

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Provincial Board Member Arleigh Jay Sitoy and One Cebu gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia have shared criticisms over the Capitol’s decision on the purchase of P250 million heavy equipment.

Sitoy said the decision is not advantageous to the government while Garcia also said the decision is very corrupt.

“Imagine wa pa gani agi sa Board gipirmahan na ni governor. Signed by the governor even if there are irregularities. Where is the daan matuwid in that regard?” said Sitoy, former ally of Governor Hilario Davide III in the Liberal Party.

Sitoy said that when the matter comes to PB for authority, they, in the minority bloc will be “outnumbered if not whisked away by the tyranny of numbers.”

Garcia questioned how the Capitol justified the awarding to the highest bidder which was previously disqualified and the price difference is P15 million and the quality of the winning bidder’s equipment is inferior compared to the Japanese-made and well-known brand offered by the other bidders.

“Daghang dagum ug dextrose mapalit ana’ng price difference nga P15 million,” Garcia said.

Sitoy also criticized Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, chairman of the Capitol’s Bids and Awards Committee, for issuing “gag order” on the release of documents.

“I find it as an arrogant display of abuse of power. It is an attempt to cover up irregularities, otherwise, Attorney Tolentino would not dare issue the memo. What is there to hide?” Sitoy said.

Tolentino issued the memorandum after they were criticized in the hiring of consultancy services worth P80 million and the purchase of P250 million equipment.

Most of the units offered by the winning bidder were found to be made in China and Singapore.

Davide earlier signed the notice of award to ConEquip Philippines, Inc. as the bidder with the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bids for brand new construction equipment, both light and heavy. The company will supply “Big Yellow” brand equipment.

While the Abstract of Bids showed that ConEquip offered the lowest price for Big Yellow units, it also showed the company has the highest total bid of P250 million since the price of other brands are higher than the other bidders.

The amount is around P15 million higher than the P235 million bid submitted by RDAK Transport Equipment, Inc. and the P237 million of Civic Merchandising, Inc.

Of the 15 items, ConEquip offered eight Big Yellow pieces of equipment made from China or Singapore.

The BAC documents are still pending before the Ad-Hoc Committee in the PB chaired by Board Member Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero for review before Davide gets the authority to enter into and sign the contract. (FREEMAN)