Lacson eyes review of govt procurement law

MANILA, Philippines - An opposition senator is eying a review of government's procurement law, following public works secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.'s claim that the three contractors accused of collusive practices can still join bidding for local projects. Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Ebdane's position runs counter to the spirit of Republic Act 9184, which requires contractors to show a certification they are not blacklisted. "Kailangan tingnan din ito. It is part of our review of the law as passed by Congress. Kongreso nag-pass ng RA 9184, iba ang implementation ng secretary of public works sa naka-interpret sa batas (We have to take a look at this. It is part of our review of the law as passed by Congress. Congress passed the law on procurement, but the public works secretary apparently has a different interpretation of it)," he said. He was referring to Ebdane's claim at a Senate hearing Tuesday, where Ebdane said Filipino firms blacklisted by the World Bank can still bid in locally funded projects. But Lacson said the law provides that any entity joining bidding should have a certification that they are not blacklisted. "Maliwanag bago sumali sa bidding ng public works dapat may certification under oath you are not a blacklisted entity, di sinabi doon blacklisted ka lang ng DPWH (It is clear that before joining any public works bidding, you should have a certification you are not a blacklisted entity. It does not say you can join so long as you are not blacklisted by DPWH only). Now that they have been blacklisted by WB, the question remains: are they still allowed to participate in future bidding to be conducted by the DPWH?" he said. In the case of the WB-blacklisted firms, he said, "paano sila kukuha ng certification di sila blacklisted under oath kung blacklisted sila (how can they get a certification that they are not blacklisted firms, if the WB already blacklisted them)?" Meanwhile, Lacson reiterated his dare to Malacañang to deny the entries in the personal appointments book of first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, some of whose contents he bared Tuesday. At Tuesday's hearing, Lacson said the diary showed the first gentleman meeting at least 20 times in 2002 alone with Eduardo de Luna, one of the WB-blacklisted contractors. "I dare Malacañang to deny the entries in that appointments book, or the book itself is not authentic or cannot be validated ... But I will maintain na relevant yan sa issue. That would show bakit nagkakaroon ng collusive practices sa bidding at pag-monopolize ng malaking kontrata sa public works (I will maintain it is relevant because it will show how collusive practices in bidding persist)," he said. - GMANews.TV