Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) have been questioned for disqualifying the lowest winning bidder in four Agroforestry Support Facility (ASF) projects here worth a combined P173 million.
The winning bidder, Jann Norris Construction and Supplies Inc., had appealed to the PENRO Bids and Awards Committee to reverse its decision for the projects. It then formally protested the decision to PENRO OIC Edgar T. Martin when its motions for reconsideration with the BAC were denied.
The projects are all concreting road projects, namely: 1) a 7.476-km access road in Barangay Pallas in Bambang with an approved budget of P67,696,229.23; 2) a 1.735-km road in Brgy. Canabay with overflow bridge in Dupax del Sur with an approved budget of P27,002,801.38; 3) the 1.52-km Lazar-Kalinga access road in Brgy. Palabotan, Dupax del Sur with an approved budget of P27,002,801.38; and 4) the 4.1-km Sitio Abuang access road with two overflow bridges at Brgy. Banila, Dupax del Sur, with an approved budget of P52,476,647.19
The four ASF projects were bid out on the morning of August 13 at the 24/7 Inn and Resort in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, records showed.
BAC Chair Melody B. Manzo, in an interview with Manila Standard, said the construction firm based in Valenzuela City was disqualified for alleged misrepresentation, or not listing all of its ongoing projects in public or private in its statement of contracts.
Manzo said the winning bidder should “abide with the rules because these projects are from JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). They are so strict, that’s why we are very careful. After seven calendar days their protest became invalid, because they didn’t pay the protest fee worth more than P1.3 million nonrefundable.”
However, Noly M. Okamoto, president and general manager of Jann Norris Construction, told the Standard the Technical Working Group of the BAC disqualified it after alleging that all the firm’s equipment were being used on works on other projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways District Engineering Offices of Nueva Vizcaya and Cordillera at Engineers Hills, Baguio City.
Okamoto said they made a legal protest in writing through their motion for reconsideration submitted to Manzo on September 5, noting among other things that the projects in Nueva Ecija and Baguio were all “substantially completed” and don’t fall under on-going projects.
Their motion also cited the TWG-BAC’s own report that Jann Norris had no derogatory remarks or negative slippage nor was it blacklisted for any of its ongoing or finished projects.
The working group conducted a post-qualification and bid evaluation report on the construction firm on August 27 and technically disqualified Jann Norris on September 3 for the reasons Manzo cited.
Okamoto sent the company’s supplemental motion on September 11 to PENRO Martin through Manzo, coupled with a certification from Nueva Vizcaya 1st District Engineering Office certifying that hard infrastructure projects awarded to Jann Norris were substantially completed and done ahead of schedule.
Manzo, however, maintained her decision to disqualify the construction firm despite its pleas under BAC Resolutions No. 16, 17, 18, and 19 on September 11.
However, Victoriano Obena, the BAC vice chairman, and Community Environment Officer Constante Espiritu, as committee member, executed an affidavit on September 10 addressed to Manzo.
The duo said they were convinced, after Okamoto’s motion for reconsideration and the certification from the DPWH, with their justification that Jann-Norris had sufficiently complied with the eligibility requirement under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
After signing the justification, Obena resigned from the BAC, while Espiritu was summoned to the DENR Regional Office, according to Okamoto.
The 4 ASFs belong to a bunch of projects downloaded to PENRO Nueva Vizcaya recently. The first tranche was awarded to Frederick Ngipol, the registered owner of Alfa Alfa Construction from Kiangan, Ifugao on September 6 worth P47,857,894.02 for the concreting of Sitio Lacong-Centro Babadi access road in Brgy. Babadi, Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.
However, Ngipol’s firm had two negative slippages of -62.16% in the construction of the Damag River–Monggayang Manaot CIP Phase 2, and -34.81% in Hapid CIS both in Ifugao, which drew the ire of Ifugao Rep. Solomon R. Chungalao.
This prompted the lawmaker to write to DENR Region 2 Executive Director Atty. Antonio A. Abawag, asking for the real reason why Manzo refused to award the projects to Jann Norris in the light of the BAC awarding the first tranche of the project to Alfa Alfa despite its slippages.
The guidelines of RA 9184 provide that if negative slippage exceeds 15 percent, the contractor involved can be post-disqualified if the slippage is due to a contractor’s fault or negligence.