MEMBERS OF THE Team Climaco have strongly criticized and condemned misinformation drive by allegedly hatched by their political foes and propagandists, who are desperate to destroy the many and outstanding accomplishments of popular Zamboanga Mayor Beng Climaco and her allies in the City Council.
They also accused political opponents of spreading lies, particularly on the issue of push carts donated by Zamboanga City government to the local airport.
Mayor Beng led the recent turnover of 200 high-quality push carts worth P3.6 million or P18,000 each to the officials of the Zamboanga International Airport in response to the shortage of trolleys there. The donation of the push carts, made from aluminium alloy, was in addition to some 200 push carts sent over by the Department of Transportation and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to the Zamboanga International Airport.
Airport officials praised the local government of Zamboanga for its donation. Council member Benjamin Guingona was also quick to ask the local government for information on the specifications of the push carts and even compared its price to those found in the Internet. Former Councilman Cesar “Jawo” Jimenez Jr, who was also a part of the Bids and Awards Committee, in the purchase of the push carts, said the procurement was approved by the City Council.
“This was bidded, actually I was a member of the Bids and Awards Committee when it was bidded. Please take note that our bidding process is on PhilGEPS (Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System) – and once you announced it on the Philgeps, that is already an announcement to the whole world. It is in the Internet, everybody can see it, especially prospective suppliers. Those allegations that there are quotations or less than P18,000, they should have joined the bidding process. There are many processes here in the bidding,” he said during a recent news conference.
He said with comparison being made by the opposition between prices of push carts donated by the local government and CAAP, there appears to be an effort to put the strict government bidding process into question. “This is a sad story coming from the Red Team (of Celso Lobregat), politics are too much now,” he said.
His father, lawyer and Council member Cesar “Sang” Jimenez also defended the procurement process and said everything was above board and followed the provisions of the government procurement law. “Let me say this for the record – the total price of the delivered final destination is P3.6 million, the cost of incidental services, including everything is P18,000 per unit. What happened here is that there is a single responsive bid submitted and what is their bid P3.6 million or P18,000 per unit – their bid was P18,000. There was no other entity who bidded and participated and in accordance with the procurement law, there are no other things this Committee will do than to award,” he said at the same press conference.
“You will notice that push carts at international airport NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), the push carts are of international standards, and that is the same type that is included in these specifications. And inclusive of sticker layout designs, if you notice, the push carts have different designs, stickers representative of the different (tourism) destinations in Zamboanga City. So that’s it, that’s the specifications. This is a sole responsive bid that took place in accordance with the provisions of the government procurement law,” he explained, referring to the colorful photos of historical places and spots here that would attract visitors and tourists coming to Zamboanga.
Council member and lawyer Rommel “Meng” Agan, who was also at the news conference, said the City Council is fully supportive of the administration of Mayor Beng, especially its many programs and projects that will largely benefit the people.
He said the purchase of the push carts underwent rigorous bidding process and bidded projects are public posted on PhilGEPS. He explained that the national government established its own electronic procurement system as part of its initiatives to modernize the procurement process and achieve greater transparency.
The PhilGEPS is the single, centralized electronic portal that serves as the primary and definitive source of information on government procurement. Government agencies, as well as suppliers, contractors, manufacturers, distributors and consultants, are mandated to register and use the system in the conduct of procurement of goods, civil works and consulting services.
Through the use of the PhilGEPS, transparency in government procurement is enhanced since opportunities to trade with government and the ensuing transactions are provided online. Despite the black propaganda, smear campaign and misinformation in some of the media, Mayor Beng and his team continue to remain popular among their constituents because of her democratic approach to governance and many achievements that prioritize the welfare of all – poor and the needy – regardless of faith and gender. (ZCH)
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