DND says no irregularity in bidding for fixed wing aircraft

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) yesterday maintained that there was nothing irregular in the bidding for the supply of medium lift fixed wing aircraft worth P5.3 billion.

DND Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said they did not favor any supplier and that bidders were given the opportunity to air their concerns about the process.

Velez admitted that there were some mistakes in the posting of bid notices but claimed that corrective measures have been undertaken.

“There were mistakes but these were corrected before any bid opening,” he told The STAR.

Velez, vice chairman of the committee handling the project, said they are ready to answer any question related to the bidding.

Earlier, Italian firm Alenia Aermacchi called for a probe on the possible irregularities or mishandling of the bidding for the medium lift fixed wing aircraft project.

The company called for the suspension of the bidding procedure until an investigation has been done to verify whether the DND special bids and awards committee 1 (SBAC1) followed the right procedure.

In a letter to the DND and the Government Procurement Policy Board, Alenia said such suspension would remove doubts about some potential interference by external factors.

Alenia said the Nov. 11 bidding for the aircraft was declared a failure due to the bids and award committee’s failure to publish a supplemental bid bulletin seven days before the bid opening.

The letter said the SBAC1 had called for the immediate publication of another bid bulletin and had rescheduled the opening of bids.

The Italian firm claimed there was mishandling of bidding procedure, which unfairly imperils them and other legitimate bidders.

Alenia said the bidders were not called to attend another pre-bidding conference held last Dec. 2.         

It added that another supplemental bid dated Dec. 6, aside from a Dec. 16 bidding, was never posted on the Philippine Government Procurement System website.

The company said potentially interested bidders have been denied the right to submit a comprehensive proposal due to the lack of information.

The DND, however, denied that the bidders were not given the chance to present their side.

Velez said they even postponed the proceedings after Alenia pointed out the failure to publish the necessary bid notices.

“Every time we detect a mistake, we postpone (the proceedings) to correct the mistake,” he said.

Velez noted that no company has been declared the winning bidder and no contract has been awarded to any supplier.

To correct the mistake, Velez said they decided to repeat the process and to publish another bid notice for the P5.3-billion project.

Another pre-bid conference for the project was held yesterday in Camp Aguinaldo and was attended by representatives of four companies.