Group airs concerns over LTO IT project

MANILA, Philippines - Transparency International (TI) has expressed serious concern over the delayed public bidding for the P8.2-billion information technology project for the Land Transportation Office (LTO), saying that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has poorly handled the project.

The group has written three letters, addressed to DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and bids and awards committee chairman Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, questioning the BAC on its alleged lapses in satisfying the requirements set by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and failure to answer questions by interested bidders who have attended the two pre-bid conferences held by the DOTC.

“A comprehensive discussion, or a disclosure of the actions taken by the DOTC, would have allayed the apprehension that the procurement process is being designed purposely to fail in view of the lack of funds for the project,” TI Philippines said in their Oct. 11 letter.

The group noted that DOTC needs to secure a multi-year obligational authority from the Department of Budget and Management since the project is not funded in the DOTC’s 2012 budget and the project is supposed to last for seven years. NEDA will only approve the project once the DOTC gets the authority, TI Philippines said.

The group, in its Oct. 17 letter, also questioned the DOTC for allowing foreign groups to bid for the project when local firms can provide and supply all services and requirements needed to set up and maintain an IT infrastructure and database for the LTO.

TI Philippines said the DOTC allowed a foreign firm, Oberthur Fiduciare, to participate in the bidding when the firm was involved in the misprint that resulted in P100 bills wherein then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s name was misspelled “Arrovo” in 2006.

The DOTC has been pursuing the bidding for the project since its contract with Stradcom Corp. will expire on Feb. 10, 2013.