(Eagle News) — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday, May 30, said he would look into the contract entered into by the Department of Justice and the security company owned by the family of Solicitor General Jose Calida.
“To satisfy everyone, we’ll take a look. I’ll call the BAC, the bids and awards committee, and find out from them if all the proper procedures were observed,” Guevarra said of the contract between the DOJ and Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency Inc.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque defended Calida from accusations of conflict of interest, saying these were mere attacks resulting from the Supreme Court’s nullification of Maria Lourdes Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice.
The SC decision stemmed from the SolGen’s filing of a quo warranto petition against her.
Roque said Calida merely had “stock ownership,” and does not exercise “management powers” in the firm.
Guevarra agreed, saying from a legal standpoint, the owner of a company and a mere shareholder were treated differently.
The company, he said, took on a life of its own when it bid for the security contract.
“If you want to invest some money in some corporation, you are not prohibited from doing that. Ang bawal, ‘yung ikaw mismo ‘yung nagpapatakbo ng kumpanya na ‘yun, actively involved ka, in the operations, in the management of a certain corporation, kasi public official ka na,” Guevarra said.
“From the viewpoint of the DOJ, what is important is that all procurement laws, rules and regulations were observed when it entered into these contracts,” Guevarra added. Meanne Corvera