ZAMBOANGA City Water District General Manager Leonardo Ray Vasquez and five co-defendants have been cleared by the Sandiganbayan of any criminal liability in connection with alleged questionable bidding of the P19.55 million line rehabilitation project in 2011.
In a 43-page decision penned by Associate Justice Karl B. Miranda, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division said the prosecution’s evidence failed to overturn the constitutional presumption of innocence in favor of the five accused, which automatically entitles them to an acquittal.
Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez and Kevin Narce B. Vivero concurred.
Also acquitted were Lovell Abad, Teotimo Reyes Jr., Arnulfo Alfonso, Rodrigo Vega, and Fernando Camba, all members of the water district’s Bids and Awards Committee.
Based on the information filed in 2016, the ZCWD officials were accused of causing undue injury to private contractor Bendimil Construction and Development Corp. by rejecting its bid for the project.
But during trial it was shown that Bendimil was mistakenly issued a notice of lowest calculated bid (NLCB) as there was another bidder that submitted a lower figure for the same project.
On this basis, the BAC refused to issue a Notice of Award to Bendimil despite its insistence that it had already been given an NLCB.
The Sandiganbayan said the ZCWD officers acted within the law in not awarding the contract to Bendimil as facts bear out that it was not the firm that submitted the lowest bid and was not entitled to be post-qualified.
On the same grounds, the court pointed out that there was no basis for the prosecution to charge the ZCWD executives of gross inexcusable negligence, evident bad faith, or manifest partiality.
“While the Court will never tolerate corruption in government, neither will it condone the filing of baseless and malicious charges. It is most ironic and baffling that the laws which seek to eradicate corruption and ensure fair government procurement process as being used against the very persons seeking to comply with the said laws,” the Sandiganbayan said.
