Solon files anti-kickback bill in House

A lawmaker has moved to help eradicate giving and accepting kickbacks in any transaction between the government and contractors.

Parañaque 2nd district rep. Roilo Golez (2nd District, ) filed the proposed measure, to be known as "Anti-Kickback Act," to prohibit the practice of offering, giving or attempting to give or offer or accept kickback in any kind of commercial transactions.

The bill declares it unlawful for any person to provide, give, attempt to provide or give, offer to provide or give, solicit, accept or attempt to accept or include directly or indirectly, the amount of kickback in the contract price charge by contractor, seller, lessor or supplier for the transactions with government agency.

Any person who will commit any act declared unlawful under the proposed bill and upon guilty verdict of the court, will be penalized with imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than twenty (20) years and a fine of not less than P5,000 not more than three times of the amount of the kickback involved in the transaction.

If in case the offender happens to be a government official or employee, he or she shall also suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office in addition to the imprisonment and fine.

If the offender is an alien, he or she will be deported after service of sentence without need for further proceedings.

The bill further provides that the aggrieved party can still recover a civil penalty, through a civil action, from any person who has committed the unlawful acts and the amount of the civil penalty shall be three times the amount of the kickback involved in the transaction.

There shall be an addition of not less than P10,000 but not more than two P200,000 for each separate commission of any of the acts prohibited or declared unlawful under the bill.

A contractor who has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of the proposed act may have been committed or is about to be committed can immediately report to the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman. In the case of purely private transactions, the report shall be made directly to the Department of Justice.

"Kickbacks are a form of commercial bribery. Activities such as this drive out honest competitors and destroy the markets in which the government or businessmen must transact, thus eroding public confidence in the transaction process," Golez explains.