Court suspends NFA bidding for P80-M polypropylene bags

The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered the suspension of the final bidding for the supply of 10.5 million polypropylene bags worth P80 million needed by the National Food Authority (NFA) for its rice and corn procurement and distribution program nationwide.

RTC Judge Enrico Lanzanas issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the bidding scheduled last April 30 upon a petition filed by one of the bidders, Jodaar Cottage Industries (JCI).

JCI’s allegations, the judge said in his two-page resolution, "show that the matter is of extreme urgency, and unless a (TRO) is issued, grave injustice and irreparable injury will arise."

In their petition, JCI executives charged that there were deliberate efforts by some quarters, in collusion with the NFA bidding and award committee, to disqualify their firm from the bidding.

They claimed that the committee deliberately excluded JCI from taking part in the final bidding based on a "baseless and flimsy" reason of alleged failure to submit a vicinity map of the company’s plant in Quezon City.

JCI said the ground for disqualification which the committee cited was "absolutely false." It clarified that the required location map of its manufacturing facility was submitted to the committee last April 9, or nine days before the scheduled pre-bidding conference.

JCI cited documents stating that an NFA technical working group, headed by Ramoncito Padilla, personally inspected the company’s plant on April 17, accompanied by a JCI sales manager, making the issue on the vicinity map moot and academic.

JCI has been supplying poly—propylene sacks to the NFA since 1996. This, the company said, indicates that it has previously passed all pre-qualification documentary, material and financial requirements.

In March last year, JCI said it delivered nearly 11 million polypropylene bags to the NFA without any hitches.