LRTA: No irregularity in maintenance deal

MANILA, Philippines - The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has denied accusations of irregularity in its bidding process for the maintenance contract of its train system.

In a statement, the LRTA said the allegations of the National Coalition of Filipino Consumers (NCFC), contained in a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, are not true.

The LRTA also denied that the case had been filed before the Sandiganbayan as reported by The STAR.

There was no irregularity in the reopening of the period for accepting bids, the LRTA explained.

Although there was a discrepancy between the deadline stated in the Instructions to Bidders and the Bid Data Sheet, the LRTA’s Bid and Awards Committee (BAC) resolved the conflict and accepted the bid of BUSAN-EDC JV within the deadline set in the BDS.

The NCFC accused LRTA officials of favoring a new maintenance service provider for the LRT’s Line 2 that runs from Santolan to Recto.

The group said the LRTA management’s BAC and Secretariat members violated the anti-graft and procurement laws when they reopened the submission of bids.

Officials, however, said the government would generate savings of more than P143.954 million with the award of the maintenance contract to the lowest bidder.