DOJ wants new contractor for NBI clearance system

MANILA, Philippines -  The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants a new contractor for the software and database management of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance system to replace Mega Data Corp. whose contract ended last June 30.

After a closed-door meeting with NBI officials, Secretary Leila de Lima announced there would be no more extension of the contract of Mega Data and that a special bids and awards committee to be led by DOJ officials will be created.

“Extension of contract with Mega Data is definitely out (of the options) because it would be violative of existing rules and regulations. We might be charged if we push for that,” she said.

De Lima said the decision would inconvenience the public, “but it’s a choice between quick response but without guarantee of having the appropriate contractor and only to encounter a lot of problems later, and temporary inconvenience.”

She said several malls have offered their establishments as a venue for the application and renewal of clearances to accommodate the long lines in the bureau’s headquarters in Manila.

The DOJ chief admitted that she was dismayed by how the NBI failed to focus on the bidding option and resorted to extending the contract of Mega Data twice and then tapping an emergency contractor for its biometrics system, Strategic and Comprehensive Consultants Inc. (SCCI).

“That (SCCI emergency contract) is only temporary. Our maximum timetable to be able to award a main contractor within six months. I told them I don’t want another extension since this is only temporary and emergency measure,” she said.

The NBI’s contract with Mega Data, which provided software and database management for the NBI clearance system for 32 years, was terminated last June 30.

The civil and criminal database remained with the NBI, but the former contractor did not transfer the software and technology used to issue an NBI clearance as it claimed that it had no build-operate-transfer agreement with the bureau on the project.