(Eagle News) — The chair of the Supreme Court’s bids and awards committee on Tuesday denied awarding the contract to an information and communications technology consultant who received a whopping monthly salary of P250,000.
“Yes, your Honor,” Raul Villanueva, who is also the SC deputy chief administrator, said when asked if the participation of the BAC in the engagement of the services of Helen Perez-Macasaet was merely a “formality.”
Villanueva was a resource person during the House justice committee hearing on the impeachment complaint filed against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
“After the (BAC) decided that this particular procurement based on documents submitted can be engaged through a negotiated procurement, the matter was brought to procuring entities,” Villanueva said.
He said the documents–which were used as bases to arrive at the monthly salary of the consultant to be selected—were submitted by the procurement planning committee chaired by Atty. Maria Carina Cunanan.
He said the procuring entities—the Management Information Systems Office and the Office of the Chief Justice—directly negotiated with Macasaet under a negotiated procurement.
MISO was headed at that time by Ed Davis, Villanueva said, while the OCJ was headed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
According to Villanueva, the contract was signed by Macasaet and Atty. Eden Candelaria on behalf of the SC.
Candelaria said she signed the contract in her capacity as the head of the office of administrative services which is under the office of the clerk of court.
“I did not sign a notice of award,” Villanueva said.
The House justice panel is holding hearings to determine whether there was probable cause for the impeachment complaint filed by Larry Gadon against Sereno.