GOV. Erico Aumentado has denied the final appeal of the alleged lawyer of Kowa Tsusho Co., Ltd. The governor broke his silence after lawyer Salvador Grupo, in an apparent last-ditch effort for the former to take the cudgels for him in the latter's failed P168-million heavy equipment bid, wrote Aumentado “to heed his cause.” Grupo had asked the governor to declare the bidding process as a failure. But lawyer Handel Lagunay, provincial legal officer who Aumentado instructed to study the Grupo letter and give his comments and recommendations thereon maintained that no new points have been raised therein. All issues earlier elevated, questioning the bidding procedure have been exhaustively discussed in his assessment, as well as in the report of the Review Committee headed by Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera, he said. With Lagunay's recommendations in, Aumentado answered Grupo that he has carefully studied the letter – and asked his secretary to download from the internet all information she can lay her hands on regarding Kowa Tsusho.

Unfortunately – and fortunately for the province – the governor was able to confirm that Kowa Tsusho did business only in the Caribbean and the Americas – exporting used tires and motorcycles, among others, but not brand-new heavy earth-moving equipment, he said. “Consequently, your client is not even qualified to participate in the bidding,” he added. “The provincial government direly needs the equipment for its road improvement and maintenance work on the about 935 kilometers of provincial roads,” the governor said, explaining that the local government unit needs to work fast in order to maximize the limited number of summer days remaining before the next season's rainy season comes.

“I find also that the alleged protest of Kowa Tsusho cannot be given due course for the reason that the protest fee equivalent to 10 percent of the approved budget of the contract (ABC) must first be deposited in accordance with the provision of Section 57, Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR-A) of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act. I understand the law imposed this requirement in order to discourage the filing of frivolous protests,” Aumentado wrote. At the same time, he appreciated Grupo's recognition of the urgency of the heavy equipment acquisition because of public outcry for the repair and maintenance of provincial roads – where some sections have been damaged because of the long heavy rainy days and volume of traffic thereon. “We cannot ignore anymore the public outcry on the matter,” he wrote. In the light of the matter, he said, he deeply regrets the inability to give due course to his request. Nonetheless, he thanked Grupo for his concern on transparency in government transactions which his administration has also been espousing – “and will continue to do so with accountability as well,” he said.