Government urged to probe LTO deal with German firm

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-corruption watchdog has asked the government to look into the P3.85-billion contract of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) with German firm Utsch for its vehicle licensing operations.

The Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines raised questions about the deal, saying the technical specifications set by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) seemed to be “tailor made” for Utsch, which reportedly has been involved in numerous high-profile corruption cases abroad.

Leon Peralta, head of the movement, told reporters yesterday that they specifically call on the Government Procurement Policy Board led by executive director Ruby Alvarez for an investigation into the matter.

He said they already sent a letter-request to Alvarez, stating that a review of the bid documents downloaded from the DOTC website showed that the hot stamping technology, an antiquated technology for motor vehicle plates, has been retained despite a worldwide trend against its continued use.

“A further review of the bid documents shows that the technical specifications embedded in the terms of reference (TOR) appear to have been configured specifically for Utsch,” the group said.

Utsch has been implicated in a number of corruption cases involving bribery of government officials in exchange for contracts to produce motor vehicle plates.

In 2011, Utsch’s chief executive Helmut Jungbluth was convicted by an Egyptian court and sentenced in absentia to a year’s jail over a contract with the former Mubarak government.

At least two former Egyptian ministers and ex-prime minister Ahmed Nazif were also sentenced to prison on charges of squandering public funds over the same contract.

It was reported that “Nazif, former interior minister Habib al-Adli and former finance minister Youssef Boutrous-Ghali were accused of granting a contract of license plates to German company Utsch through direct order above market prices, thus violating laws related to tenders and auctions.”

They were together fined about 200 million Egyptian pounds ($33.5 million).

Boutrous-Ghali, whose location remains unknown, was earlier sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison. Last month, he was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison on corruption charges.

Al-Adli received a five-year sentence. He is already serving a 12-year sentence on separate charges of embezzlement. Nazif, on the other hand, got a one-year suspended jail term.

Peralta expressed alarm over why Utsch was able to forge a deal with the DOTC, despite numerous presentations made by various technology providers on the most advanced plate making technologies, and widespread knowledge of the trend against the hot stamping technology.

With this, they believe that the DOTC Bids and Awards Committee should be investigated on how they arrived at the TOR, and specifically determining the individual or individuals who crafted the document.