DOTr assures license card procurement 'aboveboard'

An official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) guaranteed that no irregularities took place in the awarding of the contract for the procurement of driver’s license cards.

During a media briefing, Transportation Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Kim De Leon said that no company was favored during the handover of the project.

According to de Leon, the procurement process followed the guidelines as stated in the Republic Act 9184 (also known as Procurement Law).

“Wala po tayong pinaboran. Tayo po ay sumunod sa mga tinatadhana ng batas at yun po ang naging post-disqualification ay naaayon sa batas (We did not favor anyone. We followed the provisions of the law and that is the result of the the post-disqualification in accordance with the law,” he said.

Further, the DOTr explained that upon choosing the  winning bidder, it looked on the companies' financial capabilities of the bidder, as well as their capability to meet the specified needs that are seen on the contract.

“Hindi lamang po financial bid ang tinitingnan, kailangan din pong ma-establish yung kakayahan ng ating mga magiging supplier na maibigay ang pangangailangan within the definition of the terms. Ito ang naging reason kaya na-disqualify si AllCard (aside from looking at the financial bid, it is also necessary to establish the ability of our future suppliers to provide the needs within the definition of the terms. This was the reason why AllCard was disqualified),” de Leon shared.

To note, the winning bidder for the contract was Banner Plasticard, Incorporated. It recently received the Notice to Proceed and should deliver the initial one million driver’s license plastic cards within the next 60 days.

Moreover, de Leon noted that DOTr also took into consideration the feedback from various government agencies and private companies on the bidders’ performance in terms of fulfilling their contractual obligations.

“Kung anuman ang kanilang feedback, ‘yun ay ginamit ng ating BAC (bids and awards committee) sa kanilang pagdedesisyon ("Whatever the feedbacks were, our BAC considered them to come up with a decision),” he added.

Earlier, the LTO already extended the validity of driver’s licenses expiring on April 24-October 31 and is expected to launch a digitized version for its services such as renewal of permits, online registration and payment transactions at the agency.

Photos from Ruben Manahan IV

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