Ex-Bukidnon execs, COA auditor face raps over bidding anomaly

MANILA, Philippines - Four former municipal officials of Bukidnon, a government auditor and a newspaper owner are facing criminal charges for alleged involvement in a P14-million bidding anomaly that occurred 10 years ago.

Ordered charged with falsification of public documents were former San Fernando town mayor Laurencia Edma, municipal treasurer Agapito Baldo, accountant Felipa Catanus, budget officer Nestor Lopez, and secretary Menchie Landicho, and Carlito Matias of the Commission on Audit (COA) and Bernardita Basay, proprietor of the Mindanao Philippine Sunday Journal.

The Office of the Ombudsman also ordered the indictment of Edma, Baldo, Catanus and Lopez for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Records show that in 2004 the municipal government procured a soil compactor and a tractor. 

The municipal government reportedly did not conduct a bidding for the project.

Instead, it directly negotiated with the Monark Equipment Corp., the supplier of the equipment.

Matias attested that the local government conducted a public bidding and that the procurement was done according to law.

He said the price offered by the supplier for the equipment was reasonable.

However, the Office of the Provincial Auditor (OPA) discovered that there was no bidding and the procurement was not done in accordance with the law.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said the absence of a bidding deprived the government the opportunity to secure the best deal.

The ombudsman said as an official of the COA, Matias should not have  overlooked the anomaly.

“His disregard of the law when he conducted a special audit on the project confirmed his participation in the scheme,” the anti-graft agency said.

Graft probers said Basay falsely testified that  an invitation to bid for the equipment was published in her newspaper.