DOTC suspends bidding for P3.4-B LTO project

The transportation department suspended the bidding for a P3.4-billion IT infrastructure project for the Land Transportation Office, which was originally scheduled on May 12, after a regional trial court issued a restraining order.

According to a memorandum issued by the bids and awards committee of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Thursday, the Mandaluyong City regional trial court ordered a temporary halt to the bidding process after lawyer Salvador Belaro filed a suit.

In his capacity as a taxpayer, citizen and motorist, Belaro filed the case questioning the DOTC’s current bid structure for being “vastly” different from the P8.2-billion LTO IT project in 2012. That auction was later declared a failed bid.

Belaro said that, because of the difference in the scope and value of the 2014 LTO-IT project, fresh government approvals including a multiyear obligation authority (MYOA) from the Department of Budget and Management were needed instead of the “recycled” ones the transportation department was using.

The 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued on April 11, but the DOTC received the order on April 23, documents showed.

The TRO only takes effect upon receipt of the DOTC. The project, formally known as the DOTC road transportation IT infrastructure project, has drawn at least 22 bidders.

In its order, the trial court barred Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya, as well as members of the DOTC bids and awards committee, from proceeding with the LTO IT project bid.

But DOTC spokesman Michael Sagcal said that a new MYOA was not needed because the DOTC decided to “split” the 2012 into two bids, given the difficulty in bidding out the entire project.

This means that the DOTC will first bid out the “software” component, which is the subject of the current TRO. The auction for the hardware component will be held “sometime in the third quarter” of 2014.

Sagcal also noted that the DOTC’s MYOA was valid for a period of seven years starting 2013.

Still, the delays mean that the existing Stradcom Corp., which currently operates the LTO’s IT infrastructure, will continue to provide this service.