City BAC awarded contract to highest bidder?

CEBU, Philippines - A janitorial firm has filed a complaint against the members of the Cebu City government’s Bids and Awards Committee for alleged irregularities in the conduct of bidding for the hiring of janitorial services for the Cebu City Medical Center because while it is the one that offered the lowest bid, the BAC awarded the contract to the highest bidder.

Macario Quevedo, chief executive officer of Cebu East Asia Services Corporation, said he decided to send a letter complaint to Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña after the Bids and Awards Committee, headed by city administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, just ignored his queries on how it happened.

The records showed that there were only two janitorial firms, including Care Best International Inc. that participated the bidding for the hiring of 25 janitors for the CCMC for a period of eight months, from March 1 to October 31, 2010.

When the bid was opened to the public at the mayor’s conference room last February 25, it was found out that Care Best International Inc. offered P2,485,140 for the services needed, while Cebu East Asia Services Corporation has offered P2,473,524.

Quevedo narrated that the BAC declared that Cebu East Asia Services Corporation was the lowest bidder, but the BAC Secretariat requested Quevedo’s representative, Sabino Booc, to still allow the Care Best International for a one month extension before they will take over the janitorial services.

But he was surprised because last March 15, he received a communication from Fernandez showing that the Care Best International Inc. was the one that offered the lowest bid with an altered amount of P2,174,497 for seven months services.

The FREEMAN has failed to reach Fernandez yesterday for his comment on the complaint of Quevedo.

The City Council has decided to refer the matter to the city legal office for further investigation and recommendation

2 gov’t  workers charged with rape

Two men, who are both working for the government, were charged with rape yesterday.

A criminal complaint for rape was filed against Dante Magdalaga, a teacher of Abellana National High School, before the Regional Trial Court yesterday after the Cebu City Prosecutors Office denied his motion for reconsideration on the charges filed by a 17-year-old student.

While Archie Caroro,47, a City Hall employee assigned at the Market Operations Division, was before the City Prosecutors Office for allegedly sexually molesting the eight-year-old daughter of his co-worker.

In the first case, the 17-year-old victim alleged that last June 8, 2008, she slept with Magdalaga’s child because the latter had prickly heat. It was then that the accused allegedly raped her which was repeated for several times, the last one happened on September 10, 2008.

Meanwhile, Caroro was arrested and charged after the eight-year-old daughter of his co-employee reported to city market administrator Raquel Arce midday last Tuesday that she was sexually molested by the accused. The girl reportedly started crying when she noticed blood in her underwear.

Caroro signed a waiver of detention and was given 10 days to answer the charges that was filed against him.

Garcia family feud, evidence of miracle, says Davide Jr.

Former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. sees the crack within the Garcia family as part of the great miracle he was hoping to help the candidacy of his son.

Davide said that the family dispute among the Garcias is one of the big evidence of the miracle they are waiting.

“Ang milagro kay designed kana sa divine providence, kanang milagro hinay-hinay ra jud na pero ang pagkabuak sa pamilya kay usa kana siya ka big evidence sa nahitabong milagro nakakita na jud kita og kahayag paingon sa milagro,” he spoke in front of the supporters of Senator Benigno Aquino III and his running mate Mar Roxas at the Rajah Park Hotel yesterday.

Davide likened the situation in one of the passages of the bible. According to him, similar to a family, if a nation is divided into groups, this nation will never stand. “If the family is divided into groups, fighting for each other then this family will never stand and will never last,” Davide shared.

Another miracle that Davide said they have observed is the support shown by the Cebuanos to his son, Hilario “Junjun” Davide III.

 “Wala ga huna-huna sa kwarta ang mga tawo karon,” the elder Davide said.

The Garcia family is divided of their choice of a presidential candidate. No less than Governor Gwendolyn Garcia admitted that his younger brother and former consultant Byron is campaigning for Manuel Villar.

Their mother retired judge Esperanza Garcia is also campaigning for Villar. The name of Government Service Insurance System president and general manager Winston Garcia has been coming out as the one convincing the town mayors to abandon Gilberto Teodoro for Villar.

Junjun’s mother, Virginia, yesterday appealed for support for her son. In a press conference yesterday Virgie was very emphatic in her request that she had to cry begging for support for her son.

“Hangyo kini sa usa ka inahan nga who loves her son very much,” the teary-eyed Virgie said.

“We are very sure of Noynoy already, but we should go down to the provincial level and make sure nga ang probinsya is strong,” she added.

She claimed that they are already 99.9-percent if not 100-percent sure of Aquino-Roxas winning the political derby few weeks from now.

“Tua ra man (si Noynoy) sa national level pero kinahanglan naay mudala sa Liberal party sa provincial level in the province of Cebu,” she said.

The former chief justice yesterday urged the public to exercise their right to vote. “You must exercise your right to vote. Importante jud rong panahona ang inyong gahom sa pag hampak sa tarong nga tawo para sa posisyon,” he added.

According to him, money and machinery will not decide for the outcome of the election but rather the sentiments of the people to decide. — Sheila Marie E. Catacutan, Yvoughn Nadine Navarro and Dorothy Mae E. Acabo, NORSU Interns/FPL