QMMC officials face graft raps for bidding violations

Published December 2, 2014 12:49pm

The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to file graft charges against high-ranking officials of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) in Project 4, Quezon City for violating procurement rules in connection with the acquisition of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine worth P44.9 million in 2004.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the Ombudsman said the following officials violated Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act:

Procuring entity head Medical Center Chief II Dr. Rosalinda Arandia;
Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Vice Chairman and Chief Medical Professional Staff II Dr. Angeles De Leon;
BAC members Nutritionist Dietician III Milagrina Jacinto and Medical Technologist II Michael Raquel;
Executive Committee (ExeCom) members Chief Administrative Officer Floserpina Yanguas and Nurse VI Luz Padua.

The Ombudsman said that on April 25, 2005, supplier Fernando Medical Enterprises, Inc. (FMEI) won a bid for the installation, supply and delivery of the MRI for the price of P44.9 million.

In its bidding documents, QMMC stated that full payment will only be made upon complete delivery and acceptance of equipment, according to the Ombudsman.

It added that the BAC on June 7, 2005 issued a Notice of Award to FMEI with the following terms of payment:

30 percent down payment upon issuance of purchase order;
30 percent upon delivery of unit; and
40 percent upon commissioning of the equipment.

However, on September 15, 2005, the ExeCom issued Committee Resolution No. 15 changing the terms of payment and allowing a 15 percent down payment from the cost of the infrastructure component of the project.

FMEI was paid a total of P16.4 million as advance payment, it added.

The statement, quoted Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, said the hospital officials used two different sets of rules on the payment of the MRI project — the rules on procurement of infrastructure projects, and the rules on procurement of goods.

"Only the latter should apply thereto," she said. "The bidding documents clearly indicated that the project involved procurement of goods and that the BAC cannot feign ignorance about the QMMC bidding documents not allowing any advance payments prior to the completion of the MRI project."

Meanwhile, charges against BAC Chairman Medical Specialist IV Roberto Dalmacion were dismissed due to his death in 2007.

The case against Accountant III Melanie Lomotan was dismissed for lack of probable cause. —Amanda Fernandez/KG, GMA News

Tags: graft, quirinomemorialmedicalcenter, ombudsman