POWER Plates Development Concepts Inc. and J. Knieriem BV Power Plates (PPI-JKG) will be sanctioned by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the alleged violation of its contract with the government to supply vehicle registration plates, specifically for the delayed delivery of the car-license plates.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the penalties applicable for late deliveries in the past are being computed now by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Per the contract of the project under the Motor Vehicle License Plate Standardization Program (MVLPSP), PPI-JKG is required to supply 15 million new plates within a five-year period. But only four million have been distributed, resulting in a backlog of 11 million.
Tugade reiterated, though, that the deal amounting to P3.6 billion for the delivery of car license plates will remain the same.
“There will be no reduction in the contract price. It will remain the same. The savings generated due to change order [from finished plates to blank plates] will be used for the additional delivery of blank plates and RFID stickers,” he said.
The DOTr said in a statement “there is no legal basis to cancel the contract.”
The LTO made an advanced payment of P477.9 million to the car-plate supplier.
On July 13, 2015, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a notice of disallowance against it, claiming irregularities in the allocation of the agency’s budget.
In view of this order, outgoing Abakada Party-list Rep. Jonathan A. dela Cruz and incumbent Parañaque City Second District Rep. Gustavo S. Tambunting nixed the implementation of the LTO-MVLPSP.
This led the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the DOTr and LTO from distributing 700,000 pairs of license plates turned over by the Bureau of Customs to the latter.
Their delivery was stalled for a year at Manila port after PPI-JKG failed to settle its P40 million taxes and customs duties. They were just released to motorists early this year when the highest court in the country declared the funding for the MVPSP as legal.
The Supreme Court ruled the 2014 General Appropriations Act included an appropriation for the program and the use of the appropriation is lawful.
Then after six months, the COA also canceled the notification against the LTO license plate standardization program.
“In January 2018, the Supreme Court lifted its temporary restraining order and dismissed the petition questioning the constitutionality of the procurement, while the Commission on Audit lifted its Notice of Disallowance on the advance payment for the deal last July, effectively clearing the contract of irregularities,” DOTr said.
Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. had made a statement that he would file a resolution into the decision of DoTr to reconsider the supposedly anomalous contract.
Apart from the company’s alleged clear violation of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act, he said PPI-JKG allegedly committed violations of critical provisions of its multibillion-peso contract, such as sub-contracting leading to the delivery of mediocre product output.