DBM urged to blacklist contractor

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-corruption watchdog and a contractor have asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to blacklist another contractor participating in the rebidding of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC’s) National Single Window (NSW) Phase 2 project.

In a complaint filed with the DBM on Oct. 31, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Omniprime Marketing Inc. urged Estanislao Granados, director of the DBM’s procurement service, to bar Webb Fontaine FX-LLC and its local partner, Comsysnet Inc., from “participating in any bidding” for allegedly violating Commonwealth Act 108, the anti-dummy law.

The project is part of the Philippines’ commitment to be part of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) single window by 2015.

The NSW 2 project seeks to establish a system that would allow traders to submit import permits and clearances to a single entity. The system will be linked to the ASEAN single window.

The DBM’s procurement service is the one handling the bidding for the project.

Proof of foreign ownership?

The VACC and Omniprime alleged that the joint venture between Webb Fontaine and Comsysnet violated the 40 percent foreign ownership cap on companies established in the Philippines.

Omniprime – which used to be a joint venture partner of Webb Fontaine – said it secured a copy of another joint venture agreement between Webb Fontaine and Comsysnet from a clerk of court in Manila.

The agreement reportedly provides that “Comsysnet shall be entitled to the amount equivalent to five percent of the amount fully contracted with BOC by the joint venture,” and that Webb Fontaine “shall receive an amount equivalent to 91 percent of the final contract amount.”

The complainants also said the agreement allegedly gives Webb Fontaine full decision-making power over the joint venture and the entire economic right over the joint venture’s assets.

The deal also reportedly states that Webb Fontaine’s director shall be the sole signatory of the joint venture’s bank accounts.

These provisions indicate that Comsysnet is just a “dummy partner” of Webb Fontaine, the complainants said.

They added that the two companies reportedly submitted falsified bidding documents, claiming that lawyer Israel Peren – who purportedly notarized the documents – issued a certification stating that he did not notarize the bidding papers.

In another case, Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 55 Judge Josefina Siscar issued a writ of preliminary injunction stopping the implementation of a contract awarded to Webb Fontaine for the Integrated Philippine Customs System after Omniprime questioned the legality of the awarding of the contract.