IF the Aquino administration wants the whole nation to follow the daang matuwid, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) may not be the best place to begin.A complaint for graft and corruption has been filed against five persons, including three former senior DOTC officials, for alleged anomalous leasing of advertising space by the Edsa MRT 3 to a private firm.
An eight-page complaint-affidavit was filed recently with the Office of the Ombudsman by Howard M. Calleja against Glicerio V. Sicat, former transportation undersecretary for railways; Aristotle B. Batuhan, former transportation undersecretary for administrative legal affairs, finance and comptrollership; and Raquel Desiderio, former transportation assistant secretary for legal affairs.
Also named respondents in the complaint were Trackworks President and CEO Joselito de Joya and the current Transportation Metrostar Director for Operations Renato San Jose.
Sicat and the four other respondents are accused of violating Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for failing to conduct a mandatory public bidding before entering into a contract for the lease of the advertising spaces owned by the government, as required by RA 9184, or the Procurement Act.
The controversy arose on May 27, when the DOTC, through Sicat, entered a contract with Trackworks for advertising in the Edsa MRT 3’s Buendia, Shaw and Ayala stations.
In his complaint, Calleja said the advertising spaces, being “government spaces, must be put on bidding for the highest rates.”
“Consequently, the spaces, subject of this complaint, are owned by the government and should have been awarded to the highest bidder. In the absence of a public bidding, the government was unduly deprived of the opportunity to obtain the best rates for its available space,” Calleja said.
“Despite the clear mandate of the law, there is no showing that the DOTC put out an invitation to the public for the bidding of the advertising spaces. The lease of advertising spaces did not go through public bidding of any kind,” the complainant said.
The deal, the complaint added, effectively deprived the government of the best terms for the commercial space from bidders, thereby, putting the government at a grossly disadvantageous position.
“There being no bidding process conducted by the DOTC, it is crystal clear that undue preference was given to Trackworks for the latter to secure the contract,” Calleja said.
Notwithstanding the illegality of entering into an agreement between DOTC, another party over the advertising rights within the MRT 3 system and the absence of compliance with the provisions of RA 9184, respondent San Jose issued access passes to Trackworks. “This clearly shows that they approved of and continued the acts begun by Sicat, Desiderio and Batuhan,” Calleja said.
“Beyond doubt, respondents Sicat, Batuhan, Desiderio and San Jose, in conspiracy with Trackworks through respondent de Joya, committed violations of Section 3 (e) of RA 3019,” the complainant said.
Section 3 (e) prohibits “causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”
The DOTC is a key agency in the government’s drive to achieve sustained economic growth and social progress. The country needs adequate, safe and reliable land, sea and air transportation at all times. Secretary Mar Roxas faces the daunting task of upholding good governance in his department. He should ensure that his people do not stray from the daang matuwid.
US aid to Mindanao
On November 3 the US Agency for International Development (USAID) marks the 50th anniversary of its involvement in the Philippines. The focus now is assistance to war-torn Mindanao, where it has over 30 projects.
Between 1996 and 2009, USAID provided nearly $500 million to develop basic infrastructure in Mindanao, such as ports, roads and bridges, and helping rural banks assist microenterprises. In partnership with local governments and community organizations, the agency is also helping to “effectively manage natural resources, improve urban environmental management and use renewable-energy systems supplied through public-private alliances.” During the past four years, USAID’s budget allocation for the Philippines totaled nearly $400 million.
I did an in-depth study of US development assistance to the Philippines in 1993. The research showed that much of US assistance had been on a government-to-government basis until then, but in the 1990s a bigger share had gone directly to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations because of lobbying by NGO-PO networks here and in the US. The establishment of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment on the basis of a debt-for- environment swap, which until now gives grants for viable environmental projects in the country, is one positive outcome of this shift in US development aid policy.
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