THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the North Luzon Railways Corp (Northrail) do not have to pay the claims of Systra SA and Systra Philippines Inc. for alleged unpaid services amounting to P58,808,066.54 representing the local portion, and $1,189,791.29 for the foreign currency-denominated portion.
Systra said the claims were in relation to consultancy services it provided to the government for the EDSA Light Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) and the Northrail Project.
In a 53-page en banc decision released last week, the Commission on Audit (COA) denied both claims for being “unmeritorious” but said the claimant may refile its petition relative to the MRT-3 Project amounting to P32.29 million, including interest.
In its petition, Systra said it was tapped by the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC now DOTr) first, for the implementation of the Phase 1 of the MRT 3 project (P32.29 million); second, for the Section 1, Phase 1 of the Northrail Project with its joint venture partner E.S. De Castro and Associates (ESCSA) (P14.98 million); and third, the Systra-E.S. De Castro Joint Venture for the Mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the Northrail Project (P11.54 million and $1.19 million).
The audit team leader and the supervising auditor, however, noted that the period cited in the first claim was no longer covered by the MRT-3 contract since it was terminated in September 2011.
The COA en banc pointed out that the Systra-DOTC contract “specifically provided a definite period for the start and termination.
“This Commission deemed that the works performed by Systra during the period of April 16, 2009 to July 2009 was already part of the July 2009 contract and should not be compensated separately,” the commission said.
On the other hand, Northrail denied any obligation relative to the Project Management Support Team (PMST) for Northrail Section 1, Phase 1, on the strength of an opinion issued by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) on November 8, 2011.
According to the OGCC, the PMSR contract was void for being violative of the Administrative Code of 1987 and Presidential Decree No. 1455 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines.
Auditors said the PMST Contract was executed on January 31, 2007 when there was still no appropriation for the project. By Northrail’s own admission, the budget for the contract became available only on February 14, 2008.
For the MTE of the Northrail Project, the audit team said the claim was unsupported by complete documentation.
“In this case, there was no concrete proof, such as a formal agreement on contract amendment was presented, other than the letter which purportedly shows Northrail’s concurrence. Nevertheless, as discussed above, the validity of the PMST contract was questioned with respect to the absence of necessary appropriation at the time of its execution,” the Commission pointed out.
