Bacolod City employees and officials invited to the joint committee hearing of the Sangguniang Panlungsod involving the purchase of the 10 dump trucks failed to appear yesterday.

Bids and Awards Committee chairman and Secretary to the Mayor Goldwyn Nifras wrote the SP that they in the executive department could not attend the joint committee hearing since the SP’s “Notice of Joint Committee Hearing” dated Feb. 26, 2008, was directly addressed to them.

This is not in accordance with the established protocol that invitations to personnel or officials under the executive department should, as a courtesy, be coursed through the Chief Executive, he said.

City Legal Officer Allan Zamora, in his letter to the SP dated Feb. 27, said he was directed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia to conduct an investigation into the alleged irregularities in the purchase by the city government of 10 units six-wheeler dump trucks for the use of the Department of Public Services.

His office has already started the investigation and Robert Balansag, salesman of Commercial Motors Corp., was already invited to attend the scheduled investigation on March 6, Zamora said.

His office has already made a definite stand that an investigation, public hearing or inquiry “in aid of legislation” is only proper if there is a pending proposed legislation, Zamora added.

If there is none, the SP does not have the authority to call on any officer or employee under the Office of the Mayor “in aid of legislation,” he said.

The pendency of the proposed legislation is a condition for the SP to call an officer or employee “in aid of legislation,” he said.

Zamora said he believes that any attempt of the part of the SP to conduct a “public hearing” on the same subject now being investigated may jeopardize the ongoing investigation being conducted by his office.

He said the notice of the SP was referred to his office by Nifras, engineer Josephus Cerna, Efren Canlas and Melvin Recabar.

The committee hearing conducted by Councilors Dindo Ramos, Greg Gasataya, and Alex Paglumotan was attended by broadcaster Franklin Villanueva, Ronie Ong of Asian Truckers and Ding Diosanta of Trans Corp. Motors, as resource persons. Also present was Councilor Homer Bais.

Ramos said the hearing was the collegial decision of the body. This is an inquiry in aid of legislation, the resolution did not say “an inquiry in aid of ‘pending’ legislation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramos said they will try to determine if the documents provided them by Villanueva are competent to establish something. “If it is, we will give it value since the members of the BAC did not appear to air their side, so they cannot blame us if we rely on only one presentation,” he said.

Ramos said perhaps they will recommend the cancellation of the award and call for another bidding to be conducted based on the result of the hearing.

The failure of the invited officials and employees to attend the hearing is a plain and simple gag order, because they don’t want  further investigation, Villanueva said.

Villanueva said he found out that the dump trucks purchased by the city only costs P750,000 per unit,  but because of alleged “SOP” it cost P895,000 per unit when the bidding was finished.  He said the CMC learned of the bidding from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System.

Villanueva said the city has violated several provisions of R.A 9184 or the Procurement Act.

Zamora said it is apparent that they are attempting to link the Mayor to the transaction, if indeed, there was irregularity involved and that is unfair. The Mayor ordered the suspension and withdrawal of the award because he has no involvement in it, Zamora said.*CGS

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