The Commission on Audit (CA) lifted the writ of preliminary injunction earlier issued by a Quezon City court for the delivery of plastic cards used in the printing of drivers’ licenses.
“A victory for the Filipino people. We admire and respect the wisdom of the justices of the Court of Appeals in their decision to lift the writ of preliminary injunction,” the Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II said.
One million plastic cards were delivered at the LTO office yesterday following the CA’s decision.
“Even before, we have been arguing that public interest must always prevail over business interest and in this case, the CA clearly saw the soundness and validity of the arguments we presented through the Office of the Solicitor General,” Mendoza added.
The winning bidder, the Banner Plastic Card Inc. has already delivered almost two million pieces prior to the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction. The case was filed by the losing bidder Allcards Inc. during the procurement of about 5.2 million pieces of plastic cards.
Meanwhile, the CA argued that QC Regional Trial Court (RTC) should not have engaged with the case in the first place because it was the Allcards Inc. that failed to comply with appealing the disqualification to the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Bids and Awards Committee as a losing bidder.
The CA said the losing bidder should have followed the administrative process prior to seeking court intervention.
