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Court stops DND from rebidding ammo contract

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by Aries Rufo, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 08/12/2009 4:07 PM

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MANILA - The military’s ammunition supply problems have gone from bad to worse.

A Quezon City Regional Trial Court judge has stopped the Department of National Defense (DND) from re-bidding a billion-peso contract involving the acquisition of 40 mm, 60 mm, and 81 mm ammunitions.
 
In an order dated August 4, Judge Marie Christine Jacob found merit in the petition to stop the DND from re-bidding the ammunitions contracts earlier won by Talon Security Consulting and Trade Ltd. in a competitive bidding.

Talon sought the court’s intervention after Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro scrapped the recommendation of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to give the contracts to the firm.

The BAC had found Talon the “lowest calculated and responsive bidder” for the three ammunitions contract but Teodoro, on the say so of DND Undersecretary for Finance and Armed Forces Modernization Affairs Antonio Romero, declared a failure of bidding.

Romero reportedly received word from anonymous sources that the bidding was irregular.

Critical stocks

The DND’s decision to reject the BAC recommendation came in spite of the warning from military officials that the ammunition stock has been on critical level for sometime now.

Since last year, the stock has gone down to one basic load regarded as a critical level.

In its petition before the Court, Talon said Teodoro “acted without or in excess of his jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion amount to lack or excess of jurisdiction” when he set aside the BAC findings without giving a justifiable reason.

Talon said the DND has started the re-bidding process for the ammunitions, and it said this violates its right to due process.

In its reply to the petition, Teodoro argued that Talon has no legal personality to sue and that his office enjoys presumption of regularity in its duties. He also argued that the defense secretary has the power to reject any and all bids.

Right to injunction

In her ruling, Judge Jacob said Talon is entitled to a preliminary injunction, having satisfied the requisites in the issuance of relief.

“It behooves upon the court to look into factual issues….it becomes extremely necessary to prevent respondents from proceeding with the re-bidding while the instant action is behind heard and tried; otherwise, this case shall  become moot and academic,” the court said.

While agreeing that the DND may have the right to reject bids, it does not prevent any injured party from seeking court relief.  Too, the presumption of regularity in the performance of official duties “is a disputable presumption and may thus be contradicted and overcome by other evidence,” Jacob ruled.

Jacob also ordered Talon to post a 2 million-peso bond while the case is being heard.

Sources told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that the DND wants to enter into a negotiated government- to-government contract with South Korea for the questioned ammunition contracts. South Korea has been a favored country of the Philippines in its ammunitions deals.