MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino yesterday dismissed the civil case filed against him in connection with the failed bidding over a P300-million traffic signal system.
“My lawyers will take of that. They are just disgruntled bidders,” Tolentino told The STAR in a phone interview. He added that he will just attend to the case “once (he) gets home” from Rome after the canonization of Pedro Calungsod.
The Filipino-owned consortium of Abratique and Associates and First United Constructors Corp., filed a case against Tolentino and several members of the MMDA bids and awards committee for grave abuse of discretion before a Makati regional trial court.
The consortium was about to bid against the Cube Consortium, a joint venture between Dreamworks Construction Inc., Cube Information Systems Co. Ltd and South Korean firm Y & H E&C Co. Ltd. for the traffic signal system in Metro Manila. A failure of bidding was later declared.
In the complaint filed last Oct. 9, the consortium stressed that based on the procurement law, Tolentino, since he is the agency head of the MMDA, is not allowed to declare failure of bidding.
“It would seem that the memorandum dated Aug. 6, 2012, is a direct ruling of the said motion by Cube Consortium and adoption of all arguments contained therein,” the petition said.
They also questioned MMDA bid panel for entertaining foreign contractors that allegedly did not have a license to practice from the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board.