Watchdog slams disqualification of bidder in AFP project

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-corruption advocate acting as third party observer in the government’s acquisition of big ticket items for the military has questioned the decision of the Department of National Defense-Bid and Awards Committee (DND-BAC) to disqualify a South Korean company from supplying the Armed Forces of the Philippines protection equipment despite offering the lowest bid for the project.

The Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) urged DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to reconsider the decision of the BAC, which disqualified Kolon Global Corp. from supplying the Army and the Marines with 44,080 pieces of armored vests worth P800 million.

The coalition is composed of the Ateneo School of Government, Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The group’s lawyer Paterno Menzon said that Kolon was one of the four companies that tendered the lowest bid of P800 million to supply the military with armored vests out of the total P1.763-billion project put up for bidding by the DND.