MONTANO F. Salvador,
former president of the Mindanao Polytechnic State College (MPSC), was charged
with graft before the Sandiganbayan Wednesday in connection with alleged
anomalies in a P3.69 million supply contract he signed in behalf of the
institution in 2004.Based on the information filed by the
Ombudsman for Mindanao graft prosecutor Samuel P. Naungayan, Salvador is accused
of having favored Inter-Coastal Technologies Corp., a private supplier, by
awarding it the purchase contract for the acquisition of automation and control
training equipment without competitive bidding as required by law.
Graft investigators claimed Salvador conducted
pre-procurement conferences with the firm without consulting the school’s Bids
and Awards Committee (BAC). He also allegedly created a negotiation committee
and technical working group and negotiated the purchase through it.
Naungayan said the issuance of the notice of award and the
contract of sale were signed without prior approval from MPSC’s Board of
Trustees.
The prosecutor also noted that Salvador failed to withhold 10
percent of the contract price which was supposed to be mandatory as warranty for
the equipment delivered.
Five officers of the MPSC and two executives of the private firm were named
by the prosecution as possible witnesses against the defendants. – Peter
J. G. Tabingo
