‘11 contracts won by GenCorp had no public bidding’

MANILA, Philippines — The Davao City government awarded 11 of its 15 contracts to private firm GenCorp without public bidding, a procurement official revealed yesterday at the resumption of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The 11 contracts – awarded through “negotiated small value procurement” – accounted for roughly P7 million to P8 million of the firm’s P34.216-million total contract value with the city, division chief Rendell Sopeña of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) said during interpellation by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

“Is it wrong for an LGU to tap a contractor in which a sibling of the mayor has an interest?” Hontiveros asked. Sopeña replied that his office functions strictly as the technical administrator of the procurement portal and does not meddle in the legalities of transactions of LGUs with private groups.

Asked by Sen. Joel Villanueva if PhilGEPS is capable of spotting “red flags” such as “repetitive awards” to favored contractors, Sopeña said it is not, because the agency only serves a “repository” of bidding and procurement documents.

He said repeated awards are “not automatically unlawful.”

Responding to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian’s remark that Republic Act 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act mandates a bidder to submit a sworn affidavit that it has no relations to the head of procuring entity, in this case a mayor, Sopeña said the PhilGEPS could not vet the bidder’s compliance with the full disclosure of relations.

In response to query from Sen. Raffy Tulfo if there was conflict of interest in GenCorp’s being allowed to join a public bidding in Davao City, House of Representatives lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said the Vice President herself had declared in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth her having business interests in GenCorp.

“The respondent herself admitted that she is part of this corporation, then GenCorp should not be participating in the bidding of the city of Davao, which is headed by no less than the brother of the respondent Vice President,” Luistro said.

Presiding officer Francis Escudero pointed out that while the Vice President had admitted having business interest in GenCorp as stockholder, the corporate papers of the firm did not mention her as a ranking officer or shareholder.

But Tulfo maintained that “the fact remains, the Vice President is part-owner of GenCorp.”

Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte is expected to take the witness stand today and tomorrow.

This was confirmed by Escudero before adjourning the session yesterday. The mayor was supposed to appear yesterday but requested extra time to gather documents related to his testimony.

“The presiding officer grants the request of Mayor Duterte to appear tomorrow and Wednesday, which again is covered by the subpoena issued already. So there is no need to issue another subpoena,” Escudero said.

After Mayor Duterte’s testimony, the prosecution intends to summon more witnesses from Davao, including lawyer Cathy Florence Baldonado, register of deeds for the Davao City Regional Center and her deputy, Marco Pineda.

Escudero ordered the Clerk of Court to issue the subpoenas for Baldonado and Pineda for Oct. 1 and 2.

The impeachment court, meanwhile, has held off issuing a subpoena to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV after House prosecutors omitted his name from their roster of witnesses scheduled to testify this week.

Impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol clarified that while the prosecution submitted a written request to summon Trillanes, it did not include the former lawmaker when manifesting its priority witnesses for the week.

But Trillanes may still take the witness stand without subpoena as he is volunteering his testimony. Also included in the lineup is Ronnel Buenaventura, executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). He is also scheduled to appear between Oct. 1 and 2.

Tired and sleepy senator-judges and congressmen, meanwhile, provided a much needed levity at the trial, on its 30th day yesterday.

From the podium, Escudero had to remind the House prosecution panel to rouse from slumber Manila Rep. Benny Abante who, wearing shades, was seen slumped in his seat.

While not part of the prosecution team, Abante is an avid watcher of the trial, often positioning himself at the VIP guests gallery.

“May I ask Cong. (Lorenz) Defensor to nudge Cong Benny a bit. It seems he’s tired. He may want to rest somewhere, but at least not behind the witness,” Escudero said.

“I think he’s praying for us, the prosecution,” Luistro said in jest.

“I doubt that,” Escudero said, adding: “It’s been a long day, I guess.”

In a chance interview after exiting the plenary, Abante said he felt sleepy while listening to the defense lawyer’s cross-examination. — Marc Jayson Servallos, Daphne Galvez

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