Senators urge government to go after contractors in bid rigging

Senators yesterday said that the Arroyo government should run after contractors engaged in collusive practices using the World Bank (WB) report rather than allow them to continue participating in bidding for big-time infrastructure projects.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago joined Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. in assailing the House of Representatives for clearing the contractors of alleged collusion by merely hearing their testimonies.

“I think the House, after its hearing, should not have said the contractors did not commit any wrongdoing, only that there was no evidence (at hand) against them. Naturally, they cannot prove collusion as a crime because the crime is precisely collusion. They colluded or conspired with each other. Conspiracy is mostly mental unless of course you are good and you are able to record their conversations which are being done in mostly safe or secure places,” Santiago said over radio station dwIZ.

Pimentel said a WB source told him that evidence to “pin down” the grafters were available at the bank.

He clarified that the WB did not agree to submit evidence of the alleged bid rigging of government road projects or that a top WB official in the United States would provide the necessary evidence for the prosecution of criminals.

But Pimentel said the government could tap the WB to help in the prosecution of those involved in bid rigging for government projects, noting that the decision of the House to clear the contractors was premature.

Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the contractors were given the “benefit of the doubt” and allowed to participate in the bidding for government projects if they did not violate any local laws.

Santiago, chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs leading the investigation into the WB mess, said she would not continue with the hearing if there would be no witnesses to come out against the contractors or First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

She earlier recommended the dismissal of Ebdane and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, and the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez for failing to act on the WB report that had been brought to their attention as early as November of 2007.

Santiago agreed with Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the loopholes of the Government Procurement Act or Republic Act 9184 must be corrected to stop such collusive practices of contractors.

She said Lacson, as chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, could conduct the hearing on the needed changes to RA 9184.

Santiago had pointed out to Ebdane the defect of the law right in the first hearing since firms banned by the WB are not even slapped preventive suspension or investigated by his department.

“The proposal to amend the procurement law has been given to another committee so I no longer prolonged the hearing,” she said, adding that she and Lacson could discuss in a friendly manner what should be done to be able to solve the problem of collusion and corruption especially at the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Spare no one

Meanwhile, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez yesterday called for a thorough and fair investigation into the three local firms that were earlier blacklisted by the World Bank for allegedly engaging in bid-riggings for construction projects.

Iñiguez, who is also the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) relayed his appeal through the CBCPNews, CBCP’s official news service provider.

Bishop Iñiguez said no one should be spared in the investigation, not even First Gentleman Arroyo, who was reported to have ties to one of the blacklisted firms, E.C. de Luna Construction Corp.  – Evelyn Macairan