Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and officials of the National Agribusiness Corp., including its president Allan Javellana, have been accused of graft for allegedly rigging an auction for the supply of P456 million worth of refrigeration equipment.
Complainant Allan V. Ragasa, who lost the bidding, said Nabcor awarded the supply contract to Integrated Refrigerated Systems Services, a company without track record to speak of, even disqualified from the bidding.
Integrated Refrigerated Systems was formed a day before the pre-bidding conference, which was held last Aug. 26, Ragasa said. “How can a company that was freshly incorporated win a public bidding for a multi-million project?”
Agriculture and Nabcor officials denied the charges, insisting that the bidding was aboveboard and complied with the requirements. Nabcor was buying as many as 98 units of ice-making machines with liquid quick-freeze capability for distribution to fishing ports and other fishing communities.
Ragasa called on Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to issue a preventive suspension order against Yap and the officials of the state-owned Nabcor. Apart from Yap and Javellana, Nabcor offficals who were similarly charged with graft included bids and awards committee chairman Romulo Arevallo, Dennis Lozada, Winton Azucena, Melody de Guzman, and IRSS officials Encarnita-Cristina Munsod, Alexander Leung, Lawrence Tan Son, Yao Ching Hsun, Stephen Vehemente, Marites Soriano, and Jason Paz.
Ragasa’s company, Sunvar Trading Inc., was disqualified after it failed to submit a toxicology report that was made a requirement a week before the bidding on Aug. 26. The additional requirement also rendered four other bidders unable to comply with the bidding terms.
He explained that a toxicology report would take weeks to produce and that it was irresponsible on the part of Nabcor to impose another bidding requirement at the eleventh hour.
