Gunigundo: DND bidding process risks soldiers' lives

Thursday, 16 June 2011 01:15

The Department of National Defense's bidding process disregards "the lives and limbs of our men and women in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in order to favor bidders who peddle inferior and overpriced equipment."

Rep. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela City) made the allegation in his personal and collective privilege speech during the House of Representatives' plenary session privilege hour on Monday 6 June 2011. He claimed that on 28 April 2011, the bidding for the P60-million purchase project of 370 sets of UHF base radios and 650 sets of UHF handheld radios and integrated logistics support for the Philippine Army were opened.

Two bidders participated, namely: Anascomm Electronic Supply Co., selling HYTERA Radios of China, and second set of bidders, the Novacell Telecom Corp. and Thunder Enterprises, selling Motorola Radios of the US.

"To discourage middlemen and charlatans from participating, the DND Bids and Awards Committee (DND-BAC) imposed a very tough eligibility requirement before the envelope for technical specifications were opened," Gunigundo said.

A requirement was that the bidder must have also completed at least one contract similar to the project, the value of which must be, at least, 50 percent of the P60-million authorized budget for the procurement contract or, at least, P30 million, he added.

The second set of bidders, which was selling Motorola, claimed under oath it completed the Motorola Backbone Sony project, which was worth more than P30 million, and that the project is a data product/wireless broadband product but was, in fact, totally different from the base and radio equipment required or acceptable for bidding.

"Clearly, this should have declared the first bidder (Anascomm) ineligible to bid," Gunigundo said.

Despite the information the second set of bidders revealed, DND BAC Chairman Assistant Secretary Lamberto B. Sillona ruled the first bidder had passed the eligibility requirement, revealed Gunigundo in protest.

Moreover, Anascomm failed to submit during the submission and opening the required literature of encryption indicating the radios’ technical encryption module to protect users in transmission and to prevent jamming, Gunigundo said.

"On this point alone its (Anascomm's) bid should have been rated 'fail,'" Gunigundo said. "With intrepid impunity, the same DND BAC chaired by Assistant Secretary Sillona accepted Anascomm’s general brochure as the literature of encryption, which did not contain the encryption module for analog radios," he added.

This, he said, also ignored the fact that the HYTERA radios are not only digital, which are not compatible with the AFP's analog inventory, but also have analog mode, which the AFP cannot use in the absence of an encryption module, Gunigundo said.

"The DND-BAC awarded the contract to Anascomm despite the discrepancies and, worse, the DND Secretary reportedly favored the said BAC findings and denied Novacell’s protests, declaring them lacking in merit," he said.

Gunigundo pointed to an earlier incident on March 20, 2007, when the DND-BAC favored Selex Communication Ltd. instead of NEX1 Future Co. Ltd., despite the disqualification of Selex "due to insufficiency of its bid security."

But after Selex filed a motion for reconsideration, the BAC reversed itself despite Selex's insufficient bid security based on the BSP Exchange rates which was found by the Government Procurement Policy Board as in contravention of the Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act 9184) and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations.

Gunigundo said these incidents show the DND-BAC's abuse of its discretion in the review and evaluation of bids. He added that the BAC did not clearly ensure transparency in the bidding process by recording and flashing on screens the BAC's deliberations.

He said such "whimsical and capricious" processes to favor "anointed" bidders leaves the AFP "stuck with overpriced and inferior military equipment from unscrupulous suppliers who connive with corrupt DND-BAC personnel."

Gunigundo then proposed that his privilege speech be referred to the House Committee on National Defense for proper investigation and appropriate action.