BUDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno denied Tuesday the alleged bid-rigging of the P2.8-billion events management contract for the hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summits in the country this year.
Diokno hit the Events Organizer Network Inc. (EON), a company that participated in the initial procurement process, for accusing the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of imposing “unlawful, unreasonable and restrictive requirements” that barred competition.
“Ignore that EON complaint,” Diokno said in a press briefing. “EON did not even submit a bid so I’m surprised that he’s now complaining and he cannot really comply with, because the kind of services that he is providing is very limited.”
The sole bidder and apparent winner of the P2.8-billion Asean hosting deal is Stagecraft International, which offered a P1 billion during the bidding held December 1.
Diokno said there was no failure in the bidding process since Stagecraft was qualified.
"Asean is this year so we have to act with dispatch, right? And there's a part of the project – a project which is part of the P15 billion allocation for that has been bidded out but we complied with all the steps," Diokno said.
“Now, only one submitted a bid, this is the same bidder who won the right to provide the service in the 2015 Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). The total budget for that service that was bid out was P2.9 billion. You know how much the winning bidder bid? P1 billion. Don't we like that?” he added.
The hosting of the Asean conferences was bid out by the DBM-Procurement Service (DBM-PS), with an approved budget for the contract of P2.86 billion.
In a separate statement, Diokno said EON is “technically not a bidder” because it did not submit bid.
Diokno said the pre-bid conference was attended by EON and Stagecraft but it was only the latter who submitted bid on or before the deadline for submission of bids.
“EON cannot claim that it was singled out by imposing the terms and conditions of contracts because [DBM-]PS is not aware as to who will be bidding,” he said.
On December 12, the Office of the Executive Director (OED) of the DBM-PS had already refuted the allegations of EON that the Bids of Awards and Committee (BAC) violated the procurement law; severely restricted any competition for the contracted; and gave unwarranted benefit to a bidder.
In a response to issues raised by the EON, the OED maintained that the requirement for the single largest contract is "imperative and cannot be waived."
It added that the requirement is "even relaxed in accordance with rules to welcome more competition." (Sunnex)
