Integrity and Moral Ascendancy

AN OPEN LETTER :

Another NBN/ZTE Scandal, AFP-Wide Support and Separate Unit (AFPWSSU) Budget is P10.616-B in 15 years !

AFP Fixed Communication System (FCS) Project, Project Nr AFPMP-GHQ-09-001-04.
DND BAC biased towards a bidder who did not participate the Stage 1 and 2 bidding process ended up as the winner bagging the AFP FCS project, the PhP 447,360,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract.

The AFP FCS bidding held between Y2005 and Y2006 is nothing but a hoax. Former Sec. Gilbert Teodoro recently signed approved the awarding of the contract to Datatrail, a company highly regarded by the genuine bidders simply as an 'order taker', bagging the project illegally.

Issues of favoratism were raised by the bidders against the DND BAC for the questionable awarding of contract to Datatrail.

The bidders and everyone in the room including the watchers all knew that Datatrail did not participate the bidding process Stage 1 and 2: Datatrail did not submit any Eligibility Documents, no original income tax stamped 'Received' by the BIR, etc. So, how could they win ?

This is again, Datatrail's template in the works after their Bureau of Immigration ID Scam in 2005, leaving everyone in the dark.

AGENCY INVOLVED : DND BAC 2005-2006
DND - BAC CHAIRMAN USEC JOSE F SANTOS
VICE CHAIRMAN VADM ARISTON V DELOS REYES AFP
BAC MEMBERS USEC FRANCISCO F DEL ROSARIO, ASEC JOSE N FERRER & ASEC OTHELO C CARAG

The former DND BAC (2005-2006) have a lot explaining to do when they hastily awarded the contract to Datatrail without the submission of Class 'A' Legal Documents vital to ensure a 'fair playing field.' The bidders wanted to see the papers of Datatrail if they were indeed eligible to bid in Y2005.

The only thing that Datatrail presented to the DND BAC (after all the four biddders- Alcatel, Ceragon, Nera and Lucent rated 'Passed' the Stage 1 and Stage 2 bidding process), was a single piece of paper. It stated there that Datatrail was actually in Joint Venture Agreement with Ceragon.

With the submission of that JVA paper alone, the DND BAC hastily awarded the contract to Datatrail. During Stage 1 and 2 bidding process when all the bidders were required by DND BAC to submit their bids, we could not see Datatrail, merely an 'Outsider' and part of the audience (no Class 'A' Original Legal Documents with them during the Stage 1 and 2, so to speak), yet Datatrail managed to surprise everyone to have been proclaimed as 'the winner' bagging the contract. Most of the bidders and watchers suspected “irregularities” in the conduct of the bidding process by the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).


This is illegal, the DND BAC seemed ignorant about law governing procurement IRR of RA 9184:

IRR of RA 9184 on JVA states the following-

As amended by Memorandum Order No. 176, dated 27 June 2005, published in the Official Gazette on 29 August 2005 (again, this is a year 2005 Memorandum Order).

"2. Class “B” Documents –
a) Valid joint venture agreement, in case of a joint venture. EACH MEMBER of the joint venture shall submit the required Eligibility Documents;" ;

"Eligibility Requirements for Joint Venture (JV): The determination of eligibility of prospective bidders is based on the submission of Class 'A' (legal, technical and financial documents)." ;

"ALL MEMBERS of the JV should provide SEPARATE Class 'A' documents to be eligible.".

Here, Datatrail did not participate the bidding process Stage 1 & 2 did not submit their Class 'A' Documents. DND BAC never examined Datatrail's eligibility qualifications in front of the other bidders. Because of this, Ceragon JVA with Datatrail, who submitted nothing but the JVA paper, both of them should then be disqualified.


CLEAR PATTERNS OF COLLUSION AND MASSIVE CORRUPTION AMONG THE BIDDERS AND DND BAC:

Datatrail, in connivance with DND BAC, employed schemes which defeat competition. Their papers were never examined by DND BAC; unlike the other bidders whose papers were being scrutinized well by the DND BAC, Datatrail was treated differently and more favorably, they were simply part of the audience acted like ordinary watchers.

Circumstantial and corroborative evidence was clearly seen here: There's collusive agreement among some of the bidders which predetermines the winning bidder and limits or eliminates competition among the conspiring vendors.

On DND BAC, they did not ask Datatrail to submit any Class 'A' Elegibility Documents, unlike the other bidders, Datatrail was allowed "not to participate" the bidding process Stage 1 & 2. DND BAC did not dare to ask Datatrail why they were there yet not submitting their bids.

Adding insult to injury, Datatrail instantly bagged the project without presenting any Class 'A' documents. Deadline to submit all the original legal documents as required by DND BAC like the Income Tax Stamped 'Received' by the BIR, etc. was ignored by Datatrail. And Proof of Evidence on Datatrail's annual tax payment in Y2006 was P55,000, so how come they pass all the Eligibility Requirements ? Where in the world are the Datatrail's Class 'A' legal documents, all original ? The answer is NONE. They submitted nothing to DND BAC but a single piece of paper, the so called 'JVA' turned the tide. With this was an immediate announcement to all the bidders that they bagged this AFP project !

DND BAC WAS SO UNFAIR: If the non discretionary pass/fail criteria will equally apply implemented on Datatrail as well, this should result in the automatic disqualification of this bidder. Datatrail does not even deserve to be called a 'bidder' because they bypass the Stage 1 and 2 bidding process, yet the DND BAC still allowed Datatrail's entry even after all the bidding process Stage 1 & 2 had already taken place.

Also, the IRR law states that bidders cannot just modify their status from lone bidder into JVA in any of the bidding stages. There's massive “irregularities” in the conduct of the bidding process, one of the genuine bidders had this comment, "Sobra nang garapal ang ginagawa sa atin ng mga ito (DND BAC), just imagine, pinahirapan na nga tayo sa Stage 1 & 2, yun pa palang di naman kasali hindi naman bidder, walang dalang papel yun pa ang mananalo !"

Another controversy was the sharing of resources and representatives. The bidder had the same legal representative as that of another bidder. In this bidding, Jess Trinos, official representative of Alcatel was competing against Noel Guevara, official representative of Ceragon. At the same time, during this bidding process Stage 1 and 2, we often bumped into them outside, they were together representing themselves as 'official representatives' of Ceragon both promoting selling Ceragon to Sun Cellular, etc. So, there's unlawful collusive practice and massive price manipulation going on among these bidders designed to establish a bid pricing. This is direct violation of Philippine Procurement Act and IRR of RA9184 that states no single representative for both bidders. Alcatel and Ceragon should be reprimanded for using the same representatives.

There's also one striking very unusual procurement mode bidding patterns here: Bidding schedules and deadline for submission and opening of bids were changed from time to time dragged on too long to accommodate the favored bidder, Ceragon. <<Ref.: 1st Stage 25 Aug moved to 8 Sep 2005 and the 2nd Stage 20 Oct 2005 hanging with the announcement that a New Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid (ITEAB) will be released.>> Finally, we figured out there's really this DND BAC's plan with Datatrail was obviously bias: they will use Ceragon as the JVA partner so Datatrail could win; otherwise, a re-bidding would (again) take place until DND BAC get what they want, their favored supplier obviously was "Datatrail !"


QUESTIONABLE CREDIBILITY

DND BAC's dishonesty, abuse of confidence, fraud, betrayal of public trust, lack of transparency, grave misconduct, bid rigging and neglect in the performance of their duties:
1. STAGE 1 & 2 Bidding Process: DND BAC did not conduct a detailed evaluation of Datatrail papers Class 'A' Eligibility Docs using the non-discretionary criteria and Check the COMPLETENESS of the bid. Why ? The answer is simply because Datatrail submitted nothing. So, there's nothing to check and evaluate.
2. POST QUALIFICATIONS: DND BAC failed to verify, VALIDATE and ascertain all statements and documents submitted by Ceragon and Datatrail JV to ensure that EACH MEMBER of the joint venture have submitted the required Eligibility Class 'A' Documents. Up until now, in the minds of the "genuine" bidders, only Alcatel, Lucent, Ceragon and Nera documents were evaluated and rated 'Passed.' These four bidders were rated 'Passed' because they participated the bidding process Stage 1 and 2 and 'Passed.' Then, one JVA paper suddenly appeared, out from nowhere is...

AN INSTANT MAGICIAN: DND BAC proclaiming Ceragon "and Datatrail" as winners. Nobody in DND BAC, no one dared ask the Datatrail Class 'A' Eligibility Documents because the bidders were intimidated. Bidders were expecting DND BAC would exercise their functions fully well, that DND BAC will do all the questioning about Datatrail's papers, to establish a 'fail playing field' -- but sadly, this NEVER HAPPEN ! It was supposed to be the primary role of the DND BAC to ask Datatrail their Class 'A' Legal Documents in front of the other bidders. To this day, the bidders knew Datatrail never particiapted the bidding process Stage 1 & 2, so bagging the project without the submission of these Class 'A' Legal Documents was illegal ! Such fraud and illegal acts committed by DND BAC: they allowed Datatrail to submit nothing except that single document, JVA. to bag this AFP project. In their JVA arrangement, it is 90% Datatrail / 10% Ceragon ownership or interest of the JVA, this means 90% of the profit goes to Datatrail and 10% goes to Ceragon. In this JVA, ONLY Ceragon's Class 'A' Legal Documents were evaluated, getting only the 10% of the deal; Datatrail's Class 'A' Legal Documents were ALL missing (how can they support this project if Datatrail has no papers, Datatrail was not even an accrediated vendor for Globe Smart and Sun Cellular to this day so where did they gather the data that Datatrail had big telecom projects as required by law for them to qualify and to bid; IRR of RA 9184 to qualify, Datatrail MUST HAVE THESE QUALIFICATIONS "with similar contracts" consisting of 85% microwave radios and 15% pabx MUST PROVIDE some Proof of Evidence to have satisfied at least 50% of PhP 447,360,000.00 ABC within 3 years and "Certificate of Acceptance" in CY2003 CY2004 CY2005; also, no financial documents, no income tax payment stamped 'Received' by the BIR, no PROOF of telecom projects yet Datarail is getting 90%of the deal. Such a "Big Money Pot" should really be very very attractive to the DND BAC as well !
3. DND BAC should automatically disqualify Datatrail, a P55,000 taxpaying company; no Eligibility Class 'A' Documents presented during Stage 1 & 2. If for some reason, DND BAC could produce the Datatrail Class 'A' Eligibility Documents since for sure they will now be questioned, a SENATE fact finding investigation would be necessary to check the authenticity of their legal documents and VALIDATE with BIR Stamped 'Received' their SALES and TECHNICAL RECORDS from their supposed "existing" customers because NONE of the 'genuine' bidders knew Datatrail was a telecom company esp. for CY2003, CY2004 and CY2005 as the bid's reference date. We have all the reason to believe Datatrail's documents will be fabricated since we don't see them in the telecom industry, no supply record in telcos and carriers. So, why did the DND BAC 'internally' rate 'Passed' Datatrail's documents if the bidders were not even allowed by DND BAC to see them witness during Stage 1 & 2 whether Datatrail submitted all the Class 'A' Legal Documents or not because Datatrail did not participate the bidding process Stage 1 & 2.. Here's the summary of what the rest of the bidders comments, "Sila sila na lang sa loob ang nakakaalam niyan. .. This is exactly LUTONG MACAW !... Napakagarapal, DND BAC pa man din ang gumagawa ng mga illegal sa AFP FCS bidding na ito... Kasi harap harapang lokohan lang pala ang bidding na ito as in daylight robbery kung magtrabaho ang DND BAC na ito... Wala pa yung bidding ALAM NA NILA ANG MANANALO... Kaya pala reset ng reset ang bidding schedules kasi hirap na hirap na silang ipanalo MAY MANOK PALA SILA kaya BRINASO na lang talaga nila ang PAGPANALO sa Datatrail, siniguradong bago matapos ang term nila as DND BAC, naareglo na !"
4. DND BAC should not allow JVA with Datatrail, a sudden change of status of Ceragon after the bidding process Stage 1 and 2 had taken place, per IRR of RA9184, doing so is illegal !
5. DND BAC without any valid reasons, repeatedly cancel or move the bid due dates INTENTIONALLY DELAYING THE BID DUE DATES so their favored supplier, Ceragon, could catch up with all the bidding requirements. In return to Ceragon's favor, is the sudden JVA with Datatrail so both of them win. This is another controversy proof of evidence that there's strings attached: At least three bidders, Alcatel, Ceragon and Datatrail were in collusion with the DND BAC Officials, who overly manipulated this bidding to bag this project.

Interestingly, Ceragon and Datatrail, were two NEW bidders who BOTH win this AFP project the very same time these NEW PEOPLE in DND BAC got their respective appointments, these were also the VERY SAME DND BAC OFFICIALS who declared the 'highly questionable' failure of bidding in prior bidding events, also happened in early 2005. The VERY SAME DND BAC OFFICIALS who said, "Because of failure of bidding, we will invite MORE bidders this July (2005) for a fair playing field."

Here's our question to DND BAC: "Is this the fair playing field that you were talking about ? Ang pinanalo ninyo, yung kumpanyang walang kadala dalang mga dokumento kundi JVA lang? Binigay lang ng Datatrail ang JVA sa inyo (DND BAC) kung kelan tapos na ang bidding (Stage 1 & 2) walang nakakita sa aming mga bidders kung paano napasama sa listahan ninyo si Datatrail, puro illegal shortcuts naman lahat ng ginawa ninyo pag si Datatrail na, samantalang yung mga dokumento namin lahat dumaan sa butas ng karayom; si Datatrail, di naman talaga kasali sa bidding pero ang palabas ninyo sila ang nanalo, ano ba iyan, panalo kahit walang mga dokumento, hindi man lang nag-Bid ?" Ano ba itong AFP FCS bidding na ito, ungguyan ?

In this AFP FCS bidding, the DND BAC obviously FAILED to implement the latest IRR of RA 9184 on JVA, as amended by Memorandum Order No. 176, dated 27 June 2005, published in the Official Gazette on 29 August 2005 !

DND BAC failed to implement the latest IRR of RA 9184 on Datatrail-Ceragon JVA the law states that, "EACH MEMBER of the joint venture SHALL SUBMIT (AND PASS !) all the required Eligibility Documents." So, Datatrail MUST comply "SUBMIT/PASS" all Eligibility Documents first, just like what the other bidders did. Must SUBMIT THEM infront of the other bidders also, so we can validate ALL their original Class 'A' Legal Documents !

IMAGINE THAT PIECE OF PAPER: A piece of paper called J-V-A, imagine how DND BAC can declare a company calling themselves 'Datatrail' as the instant W-I-N-N-E-R of this PhP 447,360,000.00 AFP FCS Project, W-I-N-N-E-R without any documents ! (No sweat !)



For Senate Inquiry, please !