City council calls for review of documents
Were the bidders – both the winners and losers – for the controversial Magsaysay Park Development project relatives?
The Sangguniang Panlunsod (SP), refusing to let the issue die, passed a resolution on Monday asking the City Registry Office to produce documents that will attest to the relationship of the participants to the bidding that was conducted by the city government last year.
Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, who also chairs the SP, said that if the documents from the civil registry prove that the parties that bidded for the P54 million Magsaysay Park Development are really close relatives, it would then be in violation to the set of rules issued to bidders by the city government itself.
The rules clearly prohibit relatives from bidding against each other.
Fernandez, in his January 11, 2007 posting on his personal website, noted that JM Feliciano cannot bid against S & F (Siapno and Feliciano) Realty because the owners of these companies, Mark Siapno and Alex Siapno, are first cousins.
In the same posting, Fernandez underscored that “Your uncle can not be your opposing bidder in any bidding process”.
Records of the city council indicate that there were only three companies that responded to the published Invitation to Bid for the project, namely Gamma Construction, which was disqualified, JM Feliciano, and S & F Realty in joint venture with LXS Construction.
These companies formed a new company called MetroState Realty Corporation, which was registered and incorporated only in October 2006 and made to appear as the likely winner in the bidding.
The bidding process for the project started in May 2006.
Fernandez said the Instruction to Bidders from the city government explicitly stated that “All proponents found to have conflicting interests shall be disqualified to participate”.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
