ROXAS TO NIA: SHOW PROOF CONTRACT WAS NOT AWARDED
P1.4-B HEAVY EQUIPMENT BIDDING MESS SHOULD BE RECTIFIED

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today said the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) has yet to submit proof to the Senate that the questionable bidding for P1.4-billion worth of heavy machineries was indeed canceled and that there was no contract awarded.

The senator, who earlier howled against the skewed bidding, also called on the NIA to show the Senate that it has revamped its Bids and Awards Committee before it conduct another bidding for the said machineries, purportedly for the repair of irrigation systems nationwide.

"Wala pang pinapadalang patunay ang NIA sa atin na inaayos na nga nila ang sitwasyon. Baka mamaya 'ayos' pa rin ang re-bidding nila para sa P1.4 bilyong backhoe at trak (NIA has not sent us any proof that they have fixed the problem already. For all we know, the re-bidding of the P1.4 billion worth of backhoes and trucks is still 'fixed,')" he said.

"Ibalik natin ang tiwala ng publiko sa pamahalaan at mga institusyon (Let's restore the public's trust in the government and its institutions)," he stressed.

The Visayan senator stressed that the NIA could go ahead and conduct a re-bidding for the said heavy machineries, but only after it has made sure that, this time around, their bidding process would be fair and the final cost to the government would be much lower than retail prices.

Roxas had earlier sought an inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon committee into the anomalous bidding, exposing that undue favor was given by NIA two contractors who should have been disqualified under their own rules, while two of the industry's top heavy equipment suppliers were eased out. Had the contract been awarded, he said the government would have lost P100 million compared to buying the same equipment in the retail market.

"Pare-pareho lang ang mga mga modus operandi ng mga sindikato ng katiwalian sa gobyerno. Pero patuloy ang paglipana nila dahil hindi sila pinapanagot (The syndicates of corruption in government have the same modus operandi. But they continue to be free because they are not being held accountable)," Roxas stressed.

NIA in April announced the cancellation of the auction for heavy irrigation equipment worth about P1.4 billion after a disqualified bidder filed a case in court questioning the bidding held for the undertaking. He had said the delays in the project had made uncertain the procuring of the equipment in time for the restoration of irrigation facilities during the dry season.