BTF exposes business plate anomaly
MORE OF THE SAME
ANOTHER anomalous transaction involving officials of the past city administration over a P.4 million deal for the supply of business permit plates was uncovered last week.
The anomalous transaction came to light after the company ElJohn, the company that produced the plates ordered by a company called “Whatsitz Enterprises” that claimed to have authority as authorized supplier to deliver 3,000 plates to the city government last January, attempted to claim payment.
When Mayor Belen T. Fernandez ordered a review of the claimed transaction, it was determined that Whatsitz was not the company that won the bid conducted by Phil Government Electronic Procurement System (Philgeps) for the plates.
On this basis, the mayor promptly withheld payment to ElJohn and Whatsitz that listed one Jason Estrada as proprietor.
Jason Estrada turned out to be the son of Jorge Estrada, a technical consultant in the City Mayor’s Office under former Mayor Benjamin Lim since he retired as secretary of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
It was learned that it was the elder Estrada (Jorge) who delivered the business permit plates that had the photo of Lim superimposed in each of these on December 11, 2012, reportedly costing P407,693.
The Whatsitz’s transaction was not covered by a Purchase Request (PR) from the One-Stop-Business Center (OSBC) and was not coursed through the General Service Office (GSO). No bidding was also made for the purchase of the plates.
What further confused city hall was the information that it was only in January 2013 when OSBC issued a PR and was posted by PhilGEPS, and one bidder, RJS Techno Engineering Works of 23 Whiteroad Str. Inayawan, Cebu City, eventually won the bidding.
A Notice to Proceed was signed by Lim as head of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) on Feb. 27, 2013, three months before the election, for the proposed procurement of 3,000 pieces of business plates to cover the next 3-year period, 2013-2015.
Records show that RJS delivered 2,851 business plates costing P302,160 at P120 per plate, cheaper by P23 than the price per plate offered by Whatsitz at P143 per plate.
“We have posted our need for business plate with PhilGEPS following the regulations set forth under the law and are just waiting on who will come out as the winning bidder,” Fernandez said.
Asked how the controversy came about, Carmen Olpindo, OSBC chief, said it was the elder Estrada who supplied the first business permit plates to the city which are due for replacement every three years.
“We presumed that he was the one who got the award again when he delivered the plates. But when we later we found out that he has no supporting documents, we stopped issuing the plates he supplied to us,” Olpindo said.
Olpindo confirmed that the Whatsitz was not yet paid for its delivery that remain stocked in storeroom, but RJS was already paid. The plates delivered by RJS are now rendered unusable because these showed Lim as mayor.
The elder Estrada is now a consultant at the Sanggunian Panlungsod where Vice Mayor Brian Lim holds fort.
“Under my watch, nobody can put pressure on our department heads to receive their unauthorized deliveries because they (department heads) are now accountable unlike in the past,” Fernandez added.
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