Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito will Chair the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee for the investigation of the 3.8 Billion LTO deal on its License Plates Standardization Program. The subcommittee is set to hold the public hearing on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 10:00 AM.
Ejercito filed Senate Resolution No. 1239 on March 16, 2015 seeking for the investigation of the alleged irregularities in the bidding process for the procurement of motor vehicles plates. The resolution was eventually referred to the Blue Ribbon committee.
“There are numerous allegations of irregularities surrounding the bidding process. We cannot just be silent about this, especially with the amount involved and the inconvenience it is causing the public because of delayed deliveries. These are the reasons why I asked to refer the matter to a subcommittee,” Ejercito said.
The supply and delivery of the license plates was awarded to the Joint Venture of Power Plates Development Concepts, Inc. and Dutch firm J. Knieriem BV-Goes on July 22, 2013.
Ejercito cited in his Resolution that the bids and awards committee (BAC) allegedly favored the Dutch company J. Knieriem BV-Goes despite its alleged financial incapacity and inexperience. The Commission on Audit still awaits for the LTO to submit the winning bidder’s documents for their assessment.
“It is the public who suffers from the inefficiency of the supplier. But instead of addressing this, the LTO chose to implement their “NO PLATE, NO TRAVEL” policy. We cannot make the public adjust every time to the problems caused by the government,” Ejercito said.
The Senator said that the committee invited the LTO officials, the joint venture of Power Plates and J. Knieriem BV-Goes, car dealers and some commuters’ advocacy groups, among others. ###
