Asean2017 – ellen tordesillas

Gov’t on ASEAN hosting bid: ‘We rule, our rule’

Published by Ellen on January 5, 2017

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno brushes aside concerns on the shortcutting of the bidding process for the handling of PH hosting of the 2007 ASEAN meetings.

By Charmaine Deogracias and Ellen Tordesillas
VERA FIles

The Department of Budget and Management denied violating procurement rules when it bidded out the P2.8 billion contract for the hosting of the 2017 ASEAN conferences in the country, saying it has full discretion in determining the rules for such processes.

The DMB-Procurement Service came under fire for classifying the contract as a procurement of goods and not consulting services, and for awarding the contract to the sole bidder, StageCraft International. The DBM insisted StageCraft has already acquired expertise for such projects, having handled the Philippine hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in 2015, and therefore will supply “goods and services.”

“The procurement was designed to be most advantageous to the government,” the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) said in a statement on Wednesday, in reaction to allegations the transaction would be “manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to government.”

ASEAN 2017 bid rules skewed to favor one company?

Published by Ellen on January 2, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte accepts the gavel to symbolize Philippine chairmanship of ASEAN 2017 meetings from Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith at the National Convention Center in Vientiane, Laos on September 8. Malacanang photo

By CHARMAINE C. DEOGRACIAS and ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
VERA Files

Conclusion
WHEN the government bidded out the P2.8 billion events management contract for the 50th anniversary of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations to be held in the Philippines this year, it tailor-made the criteria so that a favored company would bag the deal, a company excluded from the bidding said.
In fact, sources say, when the bidding was held Dec. 1 at the DBM-PS office on Cristobal Street in Paco, Manila, only one company showed up: StageCraft International.

With a bid of P1 billion, StageCraft, headed by Francisco Zabala, logically got the gargantuan contract, the biggest in Philippine history of events management.

But Events Organizer Network Inc (EON), a company which took part in the initial process, wrote the executive director of the DBM-PS and asked her “to reject the sole bid of submitted, declare a failure of bidding, or not to award the contract to the sole bidder.”

Paynor’s ambassadorial assignment to the U.S. on hold

Published by Ellen on November 3, 2016

Marciano Paynor, head or the 2017 Asean Organizing Committee.Photo from ABS-CBN online.

President Duterte has decided that his choice to be ambassador to the United States, Marciano “Jun” Paynor will not go to Washington States this year.

It has nothing to do with the uncertain state of PH-US relations.

Duterte feels that Paynor is needed here for the preparations of the 2017 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting which will be hosted by the Philippines. There will be two summits, one for the 10 ASEAN leaders that will be held mid- 2017 and what is called ASEAN plus –plus meeting involving leaders of other dialogue countries namely Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and United States sometime in the later part of next year.

Paynor confirmed this: “I’m making sure that all the preparations for our hosting of ASEAN 2017 from January to November next year are on stream. I serve at the pleasure of the President and wherever he thinks I can be of help, that’s where I’ll be. “

Paynor said, “That I’m not going to DC till the end of the year is sure, but, that I’ll not be going anymore remains to be seen. “

Tag: Asean2017

Gov’t on ASEAN hosting bid: ‘We rule, our rule’

ASEAN 2017 bid rules skewed to favor one company?

Paynor’s ambassadorial assignment to the U.S. on hold