SC dissolves injunction vs. DOTC in 2010 license card bidding

The Supreme Court has dissolved a writ of preliminary injunction seeking to stop then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) from holding a bidding for driver’s license cards.

In a 17-page decision promulgated on July 4, the High Court affirmed the September 2012 decision and March 2013 resolution of the Court of Appeals which reversed and set aside the preliminary injunctions issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

“This Court finds that there are no substantial reasons to warrant a review of the assailed Decision and Resolution,” the Court said.

“When the petitioner fails to show that the court, which rendered the assailed ruling, has so wantonly deviated from settled procedural norms or otherwise enabled such deviation, the Court may decline to review a case,” it added.

In May 2010, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) published an invitation to bid for the supply and delivery of driver’s license cards.

The petitioner, Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (AMPI), and Realtime Data Management Services (RDMSI) had purchased bidding documents and the terms of reference for the project in the amount of P84,000.

However, the DOTC called for a review of the terms of reference after issues hounded the project, resulting in its modification. The LTO eventually suspended the opening of the bid documents and created a special bids and awards committee for procurement.

In December 2010, the DOTC posted a new invitation to bid for the project. It said that previous applicants may be issued new sets of bid documents upon presentation of their receipt for the previous bid.

However, the RDMSI sought a writ of preliminary injunction against this. The RTC granted the writ of injunction in February 2011.

The Court of Appeals then dissolved the writ of injunction, saying that the AMPI and the RDMSI are not entitled to this “because they do not have a clear unmistakable right that must be protected.”

The Supreme Court had also dismissed a petition filed by an anti-corruption watchdog seeking to block a P829.67-million deal in connection with the procurement of driver's license cards with five-year validity.—LDF, GMA News