Catering firm files complaint vs. BuCor exec

A catering corporation on Tuesday filed a complaint against the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairperson of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for her alleged refusal to sign the corporation's food inspection reports and for a possibly anomalous bidding for catering services.

In his 23-page complaint-affidavit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, lawyer and Mang Kiko Catering Services Inc. (MKCSI) president Alvin Navarro said BAC chairperson Dr. Cynthia Andrada violated Section 3(e) of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; the Administrative Code of 1987; and Section 5 of RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

In his complaint, Navarro said that MKCSI and BuCor entered into an Emergency Catering Services Agreement to provide catering services for inmates from January to March 2017.

Navarro said Andrada committed "manifest partiality and evident bad faith" under Section 3(e) of RA 3019 when she refused to sign the food inspection reports for the dates January 17–19 and 21–24. He said that she did so without any basis, making it appear that the corporation did not submit its food for inspection.

Navarro also said Andrada falsely claimed that the corporation breached the catering contract when it "unilaterally" changed some viands in the menu for the said dates in January 2017.

Navarro said that the corporation only changed the viands for the said dates after they found that 8.7 tons of uncooked beef for the January 16 menu was contaminated.

This triggered an adjustment in the menu for the succeeding dates to "ensure the required variety in the 10 days cycle menu."

Navarro also said that the BuCor did not pay them for their services due to Andrada's refusal to sign the food inspection reports.

Navarro said Andrada committed "manifest partiality and evident bad faith" again in the bidding for the procurement of catering services for the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) and the Correctional Institution for Women for the second quarter of 2017 when she postponed the May 8 bidding only four days prior, on May 4.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, any modification in the bidding bulletins may be issued "at least seven calendar days before the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids."

Navarro also said Andrada opened the bids to two other bidders, Aurora F. Sumulong Eatery (AFS) and EDCT Food Service, even though they supposedly did not comply with certain eligibility requirements.

Navarro alleged that Andrada committed neglect of duty and misconduct, saying that she failed to uphold the provisions of RA 9184 and its implementing rules and regulations, and for refusing to sign the food inspection reports "despite her personal knowledge that the said menu had been previously inspected and deemed acceptable by the members of the NBP-Food Inspection Team."

Navarro argued that Andrada must also be held liable for violating Section 5 of RA 6713 for "her propensity to disrepute MKCSI's otherwise stellar business practices."

In a statement, MKCSI legal counsel Lorna Kapunan said this is just the first of "many cases" the company will be filing against BuCor for "outright manipulation" of the bidding process.

The lawyer said there was an apparent attempt to favor a new caterer which cannot even satisfy the minimum requirements of the RA 9184.

Kapunan said Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has also promised to undertake an investigation into the allegations against BuCor people.

"[B]y moving this forward to the legal system, we will make the BuCor officials hear the trumpets of justice," Kapunan said.

BuCor Director General Benjamin Delos Santos has yet to comment on the Ombudsman complaint even as he said last week that there was no winning bidder yet.

"There's a grievance mechanism provided for in the catering contract and the Procurement Law. The esteemed lawyers of Mang Kiko should know that due process of law is available to the contracting parties," Delos Santos said. — with a report by Virgil Lopez/BM, GMA News