SANTO DOMINGO- Through Resolution Ref. RIC-179-2023, the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) issued the disqualification of the State Supplier Registry (RPE) against the supplier Transcore Latam, SRL, for the presentation of false or altered documentation, within the framework of the National Public Bidding procedure No. INTRANT-CCC-LPN-2023-0001.
Transcore Latam SRL is the company to which the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant) awarded a 1.317 billion peso contract for the installation of the traffic light network in Greater Santo Domingo. From this date forward, this company is prohibited from contracting with any of the institutions covered by Law 340-06 on Public Procurement.
The governing body for public procurement issued its final decision regarding the investigation. Carlos Pimentel, director of the DGCP, explained that the permanent disqualification is due to concrete evidence of document tampering and falsification used to participate in the bidding process.
"That is clearly demonstrated, and the appropriate action for such a serious offense is permanent disqualification. Furthermore, Article 14 of Law 340-06 would apply, which stipulates that companies participating in a process with false, altered, or fraudulent documentation will have their contracts annulled," he told Diario Libre.
Pimentel said that with this decision the DGCP concludes its investigation process, which will be placed entirely in the hands of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Pro Competencia, and the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII), as he revealed that "some tax inconsistencies were detected in the company during the process, which we believe are important to investigate."
"In all the investigations we conduct at the DGCP, we act within the limits of our competence, but if we see that they fall within the competence limits of another institution, then we refer them to that institution to proceed," he added.
Pimentel stated that the Attorney General's Office would be notified of this latest decision and expressed his willingness to collaborate with the Public Prosecutor's Office "for any clarification or further information, or if we believe there are indications of criminal liability in what was the internal case."
Counterfeits were verified
According to the file of the Resolution issued by the DGCP, among the findings of falsehood, is the presentation of a certification to endorse its experience in "technological solutions for toll and tag systems", and not to traffic light systems as indicated in the object of the contract of the reported tender.
The documentation submitted also refers to "Transcore" and not "Transcore Latam, SRL". Furthermore, the time indicated in the certification (3 years) does not match the time the winning bidder has been established, which, at the time of the call for bids, was only 7 months.
Similarly, alteration of information was observed in the sworn statement submitted by the winning company and use of a copy of the signature of Mr. Michael Mauritz, vice president of Transcore LP, without prior authorization.
"The explanations provided by the winning bidder and their arguments were considered and taken into account in the decision signed today (Tuesday), from a different perspective, and this is reflected in the resolution. And no, the arguments they presented regarding the falsification have no merit. The evidence of the document alterations is unclear and does not support the claim," Pimentel stated.
Comptroller's Office audits
The Comptroller General of the Republic is conducting an audit of the installation of traffic lights and cameras at intersections to determine the level of execution of the contract.
It is recalled that the director of the Intrant Traffic Control Center, Samuel Baquero, certified in a letter sent to Hugo Beras, director of the institution, that the contract had been executed at 65% committing 863,460,504.20 pesos.
Precautionary measure postponed before the TSA
Judge Antonio Sánchez of the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) postponed until December 14 at 2:00 p.m. the hearing in which Transcore Latam, SRL, the company contracted by the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant) to install a network of traffic lights in Greater Santo Domingo, requested an injunction against the decision of the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) that annulled the procedure and the contract involving an investment of 1.317 billion pesos. The hearing, which was to be held in room 01 of the TSA at the Centro de los Héroes, was postponed to give the parties an opportunity to become more familiar with the matter.
Taken from Diario Libre.
