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GOVERNMENT experts on project evaluation and procurement
process told senators Monday that the aborted
P15-billion national broadband network (NBN) deal
awarded to Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Co.
Ltd. (ZTE) of
China
could not have been exempted from public-bidding rules
without a go-ahead from the Palace.
Appearing at a Senate consultative meeting called by
trade and commerce committee chairman Sen. Mar Roxas II,
former socioeconomic planning secretary Felipe Medalla
said government procurement rules strictly require
public bidding, but this could be waived if the project
is to be funded under the so-called Official Development
Assistance, or ODA.
The
briefing was called with a view to identifying gaps in
the procurement rules and systems, and recommend
remedial measures.
“The
real problem is when you enter into an agreement with
another country, usually under the guise of it being an
ODA project . . . so, what has to be harmonized [by
Congress] is the procurement when it conflicts with the
President’s interpretation of the ODA law,” Medalla
said.
What was
clearly shown in the ZTE-broadband deal is that “you
cannot be an exception [from bidding rules] without the
active role of the President herself,” he said.
“When
you look at the cases of the NBN and the North Rail
projects, it is unimaginable that something like this
can proceed without the active support of the
President,” Medalla told senators.
Briefing
reporters after the meeting, Roxas indicated the
committee would push passage of remedial legislation
mandating that all government projects undergo the
bidding process to avoid a repeat of the NBN-ZTE
debacle.
“We get
into trouble every time we go outside bidding,” he
pointed out.
He
argued that compulsory bidding rules should cover all
procurement programs of the government, including
projects funded under ODA and the build-operate-transfer
(BOT) scheme. Projects allowed exemptions from bidding
requirements should pass scrutiny by Congress, similar
to a treaty ratification process, he added.
According to Roxas, the trade and commerce committee
will likely introduce amendments to the procurement Law,
the ODA law or insert a new provision in the yearly
General Appropriations Act legislated by Congress, to
enact the new policy.
A new
requirement would be incorporated in the proposed
remedial legislation that ODA and BOT projects be
included in the Annual Procurement Plan which lists down
high-priority projects to be funded and implemented by
the government in the annual bill. |
