GRAMMAR and sentence construction proved enough to wreck the government’s cases against former Santa Barbara, Iloilo municipal mayor Isabelo Maquino and five other defendants charged in 2017 by the Office of the Ombudsman of conspiracy in anomalous bidding of public works contracts.
In a 79-page decision issued on November 15, 2024, the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division held that the prosecution was wrong in thinking that the contractors “withdrew their bids” to give way to the competitor hence the cases filed against them and the local government officials were defective.
Other than Maquino, also cleared of charges of violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) and the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) were Municipal Bids and Awards Committee members Lyndofer Beup, Noel Jaspe, and Negenia Araneta, and private defendants Raymund Tabuga of Topmost Development and Marketing Corp (TMDC) and Felix Gurrea of F. Gurrea Construction Inc. (FGCI).
The LGU officials were accused of giving an advantage or preference to TMDC and FGCI to allow them to win the contracts for the concreting of the Libertad and Arroyo St., concreting of Sodusta St., and the construction of a Fish Section Building which went to TDMC; and the asphalt overlaying of Castilla St. and asphalting of the section of Arroyo St. in front of the public market which were won by FGCI.
The linchpin of both cases was the supposed withdrawal of one of the contractors to allow the other to win.
During the trial, letters from Topmost Development and F. Guerra Construction were presented in court as part of the defense evidence to challenge the alleged withdrawal by one contractor to give way to the other.
“Please be informed that we are refraining from submitting our bid for the said project as our total cost exceeds the approved budget for the contract…,” TDMC told the BAC.
On the other hand, FGCI wrote, “We regret to inform you that we opt to forego our opportunity to bid for the above mentioned project cause our cost estimate goes beyond the approved budget…”
In acquitting the defendants, the Sandiganbayan sustained their argument that there was no proper submission of an official bid hence there was nothing for the contractors to withdraw.
“As correctly argued by the defense, a withdrawal of bid means that bids were initially submitted and then subsequently withdrawn. Indeed, the word “withdraw” means “to take back or away; remove consideration or set outside a group,” the court noted.
Since the letter used the terms “refrain” and “forego” the court held that the bids were not submitted at all.
“Evidently, TDMC and FGCTs letters were expressions of TDMC and FGCTs’ intention not to participate in the bidding of certain projects, rather than ‘withdrawals of bid,’ the Sandiganbayan declared.
At the same time, it pointed out that other than the two contractors, no other firms submitted any bids for the projects.
And since the winning bids were within the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), there was no overpayment or excessive cost estimate on the public works projects.
“Thus, it cannot be said that the Municipality of Santa Barbara, Iloilo suffered undue injury for having been deprived of the most advantageous terms for the projects,” the Sandiganbayan added.
