THE Commission on Audit has granted the petition for money claim of Diwa Learning System Inc. against the Makati City government in connection with an interactive online learning program of the Department of Education-Makati City Division in schoolyear 2015-2016.
While Diwa claimed it was owed P24.31 million, the COA only upheld P22.45 million based on the report of the audit team citing the number of activated accounts and the total number of students enrolled.
Records showed former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. approved an appropriation of P24.306 million for the Genyo e-Learning Management Program (eLMP), on online learning program, through purchase request No. 15-04-0660.
However, the mayor was suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman later that year and was replaced by acting mayor Romulo Peña Jr., who ordered the cancellation of both the purchase request (PR) and the obligation request (ObR).
The DepEd-Makati City appealed with Diwa to proceed with the delivery of the Genyo e-LMP program, assuring the supplier the cancellations were only procedural as the new PR and ObR had to bear the signature of the sitting mayor.
While Peña did sign and approve the new documents, the city government failed to release the payments because it was no longer included in that year’s appropriations although Makati issued a certification of non-payment to acknowledge the obligation.
Diwa then filed the petition with the COA, backed by several documents including the PR/ObR signed by Binay Jr., the replacement PR/ObR signed by Peña, the certification from the City Accounting Department that no payment has been made, and the certificate of acceptance by the Public Schools District Supervisor, DepEd-Makati City Division.
It noted that the online program benefitted 28 public elementary schools and nine high schools in Makati through interactive media content in Science, Math, English, Araling Panlipunan, Filipino, and Chinese.
The COA said the city must compensate the supplier since the latter delivered its end of the deal even if there were questions raised regarding insufficiency of procurement documents.
“Notwithstanding the absence of the documents evidencing the procurement process, the fact remains that the petitioner undertook the project until its completion without any objection on the part of the city. Based on records, the petitioner rendered services and implemented the program,” the commission pointed out.
