KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/30 July) – Possible penalties face the winning bidder for the purchase of two trucks and three heavy equipment by the city government for reportedly failing to deliver on time three of the items.
TKC Heavy Industries Inc., the supplier, was supposed to complete the delivery last May 2010. As of the deadline, however, only the pay loader and grader were delivered.
The undelivered items are a bulldozer, a six-wheeler truck and a dump truck, which together with the pay loader and grader cost the city government a loaned amount of P44.725 million.
The incomplete delivery of the equipment has reached the attention of WATCH Kidapawan, an anti-corruption watchdog created early July this year, which started scrutinizing loans entered into by the city government since 2005.
WATCH is composed of media workers and members of local civil society groups.
Records gathered by the group showed the city government has started paying for the loan since last year. But it was surprised to learn that TKC has only made a partial delivery.
This prompted the members of the city council to urge Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco to compel the supplier to make a complete delivery.
“We, thus, urge our city mayor, Rodolfo Gantuangco, to compel the TKC Industries to complete its delivery of the equipment. We will already charge the company of liquidated damages for the delay,” said Councilor Lauro Taynan, main proponent of the resolution.
Celestina Relativo, head of the city’s General Services Office said the bulldozer was already shipped last Wednesday from Manila and is expected to arrive in Davao City’s port on Monday.
TKC has offices in Manila and Cebu.
But the date of the delivery of the two trucks is not known.
Relativo said they opened the public bidding for the purchase of the equipment and trucks on Nov. 9, 2009.
The bidding was published twice through the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (Phil GEPS), she said.
Based on the records, TKC was supposed to complete the delivery within 120 working days or six months after the completion of the bidding in November last year.
Relativo told the city council she did not sign the delivery receipt for the pay loader and grader.
“I intentionally did not sign the delivery receipt because it was not fully completed but the pay loader and the grader were already turned over to the city LGU’s Motor Pool,” she said. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)
