Robredo: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

MANILA, Philippines—Claiming he was in a “damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t” situation, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he would rather be sued by a supplier over bidding failures than risk facing graft charges for approving a “defective” contract for P242.8 million worth of fire-fighting equipment.

Representatives of supplier Kolonwel Trading Co. and its Korean partner In Seung Apparel have threatened to sue Robredo and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) acting head Chief Supt. Samuel Perez, for using “flimsy reasons” for declaring a failure of bidding after it had already won the bid in 2010.

“We’re facing a legal problem here. The issue and its legal complexities are now out in the open. No matter what stance we take, we can be sued,” Robredo admitted.

“If we will award the contract to Kolonwel knowing they did not comply with the documentary requirements, Perez and I could be sued just as well. If we deny Kolonwel the contract, they would also sue us,” he continued.

Doing something right

“In this situation, I would rather be sued for what I think is right than be sued for doing something or taking a position which I think is wrong,” Robredo argued.

Robredo said he was set to award the contract to Kolonwel last December, but Perez brought to his attention the fact that Kolonwel should have been disqualified.

Bureaucratic struggles

While bureaucratic and legal struggles continue, firefighters have not been given new protective gear such as breathing equipment, boots, helmets, gloves, coats and trousers, the Commission on Audit recently noted.

Explaining the delays, Robredo claimed a review showed the firm falsified a “Certificate of Fire Industry” from the country of origin of its Korean partner and failed to electronically file its income tax returns for 2009 and 2010 as part of the documentary requirements.

He also said he would have the BFP bids and awards committee investigated for ignoring the advice of its technical working group that Kolonwel failed to comply with some mandatory bidding requirements.

On claims that the BFP acted on the complaints of two losing bidders, Pampisco Technologies and 911 Alarm, outside the bidding process, Robredo defended the acting BFP chief.

He said Perez was authorized to exercise his discretion in any bidding when the contract has not yet been awarded.

State auditors earlier called the attention of the fire protection agency to their failure to purchase much-needed firefighting equipment despite the allotment of a budget for it in 2010. Due to delays, their funds reverted back to the general fund.

The failure to buy the equipment was due to sudden revisions in the technical specifications of the items and approval delays that resulted in the lapsing of their budget allotment, the COA noted.

COA said the BFP needed to step up its game and purchase the equipment because the lives and safety of firefighters were at stake.