Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has affirmed the finding of probable cause against axed National Printing Office (NPO) Acting Director Emmanuel Andaya, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman Sylvia Banda and BAC members Josefina Samson, Antonio Sillona, Bernadette Lagumen, and Ma. Gracia Enriquez. Andaya, et. al. are facing charges before the Sandiganbayan for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act).
The case emanated from the procurement of 1,000 boxes of Travel Clearance Certificates (TCC) as requested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in 2010. Andaya approved the BAC resolution resorting to emergency procurement of the TCCs at a price of P1,900 per box. On 30 November 2010, the contract was awarded to Advance Computer Forms, Inc. (Advance) with the lowest calculated and responsive bid of P1,899.95/box for a total contract price of P1.89million Respondents also authorized the advance delivery of the TCCs prior to the issuance of a notice of award.
The Ombudsman stated that Andaya, et al. acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence when they awarded the contract to Advance without the benefit of a public bidding as required by the Government Procurement Reform Act. It was also established that the conditions for the resort to the alternative mode of procurement were not present to justify the absence of public bidding.
According to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, “the conditions to resort the alternative methods of procurement are not empty words but were specifically crafted to guarantee that no personal preference is given to any supplier and that the government is given the best possible price for its procurement, especially since no public bidding is involved.” ###