NBI sees delays in clearance release after contractor's pullout

Manila, Philippines - There may be delays in the processing and issuance of clearances by the National Bureau of Investigation after Mega Data Corp., the company that ran the NBI’s computerized clearance processing system for the past 30 years, pulled out its software and hardware systems after its contract expired Thursday.

The NBI suspended accepting applications for clearances yesterday and said it will resume on July 4.

Supervising Agent Gerry Perdido, who is with the NBI’s technical services unit, said the bureau will definitely undergo a “downtime” in the processing and release of clearances, “but we are doing everything to address this concern. He said the NBI releases about 22,000 clearances daily nationwide.

Perdido said they will use their staff to shorten the delay, but noted that they will not revert to the manual system.

He said the Department of Justice (DOJ)  Separate Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), in charge of the bidding for the NBI Citizens Database Information System, has not yet come up with the terms of reference (TOR) required  for the bidding.

He cited a failure in the bidding when the project was bid out in October 2009. NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula earlier said five firms joined the bidding – V.G. Roxas and Co., Inc., Mega Data Corp., Total Information Management, Systems and Plan Integrator and Development Corp. (SPIDC) and Data Trail Corp. – but the NBI’s bidding and awards committee issued a resolution on Sept. 27, 2010 declaring a failure of bidding.

Only two firms, Mega and SPIDC, were left. Both firms alleged that the TOR had been “tailored” to favor the other firm, and the perceived bias on the part of the NBI bid body and the technical working group that drew up the TOR.

Despite Mega Data’s pullout, Gatdula guaranteed the continuity of the NBI’s clearance service and vowed that all transactions related to the procurement of a new system will be aboveboard and transparent.