Capitol BAC recommendation turning down Black Pearl’s service gets Davide’s approval

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu province’s Bids and Awards Committee has post-disqualified Black Pearl Security Agency due to infractions by its security guards, including involvement in a shooting incident at a province-owned  lot last week.

The BAC made the recommendation last Friday and it was approved by Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III yesterday.

The BAC said the offenses Black Pearl’s security guards had committed were taken into consideration in its decision.

Capitol Chief of Security Loy Anthony Madrigal was summoned  by the BAC during a meeting Friday, where Madrigal furnished the body a copy of incident reports on the violations committed by some of Black Pearl’s guards.

Apart from the “accidental” firing of a shotgun in a province-owned  lot in Barangay Apas, Cebu City, Madrigal reported that another guard from the agency was caught sleeping while on duty. Another guard was also reportedly found to have no license, the report added.

“The BAC-Goods and Services exhaustedly and painstakingly deliberated on the bearing of these disturbing reports in connection with the issue of capability of Black Pearl Security Agency to provide quality security services to the Cebu Provincial Government,” read the BAC recommendation.

Black Pearl temporarily took over Capitol facilities on June 1pending the awarding of the contract. Its service at the Capitol ended last Saturday after Davide ordered the termination of its service.

Davide has directed the BAC to notify Black Pearl about the post-disqualification.

Davide said he is awaiting another recommendation from the BAC as to how to go about the post-qualification evaluation, whether or not the Capitol would consider Tactical Security Agency and GDS Security & Detective Agency or request a re-bidding.

Together with Black Pearl, Tactical and GDS had identical bid offers but Black Pearl broke the deadlock.

With Black Pearl gone, the Cebu Provincial Police Office is now the one providing security at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, BAC-Goods and Services and BAC-Infrastructure (BAC-Infra) have already been fused into a single body after Davide issued an Executive Order dated May 29, 2014 that became effective

The new BAC is now composed of Provincial Legal Officer Orvi Ortega, Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, Provincial Assessor Alma Sibonga, Provincial Engineer Hector Jamora, and Provincial General Services Office Officer-in-charge Jone Siegfred Sepe.  The committee has yet to elect its chairman.

Ortega said the matter is now in the hands of the new BAC after the previous membership was accused of rigging the bidding process just so Black Pearl would be hired. (FREEMAN)