Solon bares anomaly in P342M firetruck purchase

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QUEZON CITY — A party list representative is accusing officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of irregularities in the purchase of at least 37 firetrucks worth P342 million. 

In a privilege speech delivered yesterday, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said records showed the BFP bought 7 firetrucks in 2007 and another 30 in 2008 without any public bidding as required by law. Instead, the firetrucks were acquired through direct contracting.

He also said the firetrucks may have been overpriced by as much as 100%.

He said the conditions for direct contracting under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act did not apply to the purchase of the said firetrucks.

The conditions are: 1) When the items are proprietary and can be obtained only from one source; 2) When the purchase of the item is a condition precedent for a contractor to guarantee project performance; and 3) When the item is sold by an exclusive dealer or manufacturer which does not have sub-dealers selling at lower prices and for which no suitable substitute can be obtained at more advantageous terms to the Government.

Casiño also revealed that 10 firetrucks bought for P9.75 million each in September 2008 may have been overpriced by 100%. “According to my sources, if these were acquired through open bidding the price would have hovered around P5 million only.”

He cited the case of the 1,000-gallon fire trucks that were initially priced at P6.7 million in 2007. After an initial purchase of three units in early 2007, the price increased to P8.8 million in a matter of two months.

By March 2008, the price had escalated to more than P9 million each and by September 2008, the BFP bought 10 units at an astonishing price of almost P10 million each.

“Apparently the lack of a public bidding for these firetrucks allowed the contractor and his friends in the BFP, DILG and DBM to increase the price with impunity,” Casiño stressed.

He also revealed that at least 13 of the 37 trucks came from a single contractor. “Records I have show the contract for 13 of the trucks went to a certain Anos Research Manufacturing.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s possible this company also supplied the other units through direct contracting.”

In his speech, the lawmaker said it was ironic that the BFP was being engulfed by a different kind of fire, the fire of corruption. “May ibang klaseng sunog na kumakain sa BFP. Ito’y ang sunog ng korapsyon.”

In response, the plenary immediately tasked the Committee on Good Government and the Committee on Public Order and Safety to conduct an investigation into the matter. # Vincent Michael L. Borneo