COA asked to stop license plate project

MANILA, Philippines - The lawyer of a losing bidder in the government’s license plate standardization project has asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to suspend its implementation.

In a Sept. 30 letter to COA chairperson Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan, lawyer Leo Romero claimed there was no “multi-year obligational authority (MYOA)” from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the P3.85-billion undertaking of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).

Romero is the lawyer of Maria-ning & Sons Development Corp., which earlier questioned the DOTC’s failure to republish the terms of the bidding after the agency split into two “lots” the billion-peso project.

“A MYOA, which contains an annual breakdown of the full project cost, obligates agencies to include in their budget proposals for the ensuing years the amount programmed for the said year(s),” Romero said in the letter.

Lapses

Romero cited a circular issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board in January 2009, which he said requires the document from the DBM.

“Before they (DOTC) proceeded with the bidding, they should have secured first the authority from the DBM because it is a five-year project. That’s a huge lapse on the part of the DOTC,” Romero said.

In his letter to the COA, Romero said “the MYOA shall be a pre-requisite for procurement of a multi-year contract. All procurement activities should be within the total project cost and categories reflected in the MYOA used by the DBM for the said MYP (multi-year project).”

He asked the COA to issue a notice of suspension or a notice of disallowance on the disbursement of funds for the project.

“The public bidding of the project is illegal, irregular, unnecessary, excessive and unconscionable, rendering the same and all proceedings conducted therein null and void,” Romero said.

 Copies of the letter were also given to President Aquino, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and Land Transportation Office chief Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres.

The scheduled release last month of the new plates under the project did not materialize. Motor vehicle plates will now have three letters and a four-number combination, while motorcycle plates will have two letters and a five-number combination.

Each pair of plates for the motor vehicles will cost P450. Plates for motorcycles will cost P120 each.

Amendments

After an invitation to bid stating the approved budget for the contract of P3,851,600,100, the DOTC amended it through General Bid Bulletin (GPBB) No. 003-2013 and divided into two lots: the first lot was for motor vehicle plates (5,236,439 pairs of plates worth P2,356,397,550) and the second lot was for motorcycle plates (9,968,017 plates for motorcycles worth P1,495,202,550).

Romero claimed this was not allowed without re-advertisement. He cited a resolution issued by GPBB in April 2005, which he said mandates the re-publication.

Romero also claimed the splitting was done to favor the Dutch company JKG, which he alleged was financially incapable of undertaking the project.

But DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal said there was nothing irregular with the project and insisted the GPBB resolution governs instances where there is a change in a project’s approved budget for the contract.