Bukidnon LGU told: Pay hospital supplier’s P4M claim

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FOURTEEN years after fulfilling its delivery contract, a supplier of medical and hospital equipment can finally get paid after the Commission on Audit granted its claim against the provincial government of Bukidnon.

In a decision released last week, the COA en banc held that claimant Berovan Marketing Inc. deserves to be compensated for the deliveries of medicines and equipment backed by sufficient documents to validate completion.

The local government had refused to pay the supplier’s billing on the ground that the supporting documents were incomplete.

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COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba and Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario Lipana sustained the provincial government’s stand but said Berovan may still collect payment based on the principle of quantum meruit, which allows reasonable compensation for services rendered.

“The province is correct to assert that the petitioner’s money claim should have been supported with complete documentation. However, jurisprudence teaches that parties whose claims may have been rendered infirm, on account of falling short of requirements, may nonetheless be allowed to recover as much as he/she/it reasonably deserves, pursuant to the principle of quantum meruit,” the Commission said.

It explained that quantum meruit is anchored on equity and acts as a device against unjust enrichment.

While the supplier’s claim was for a total of P8.35 million, the COA said only five transactions amounting to P4,389,674.67 may be considered as having sufficient documentary support.

These include medicines worth P1.46 million and various supplies totaling P2.93 million.

Among the documents submitted by the claimant were wholesale charge invoices, requisition issue slips, inventory custodian slips, and acknowledgment receipts of equipment.

However, due to deficient proof of obligation, the COA said the balance of the claim filed cannot be allowed.

“The rest of the alleged contracts/transactions cannot be validated from the measly supporting documents provided by the petitioner, despite the extraneous effort exerted by the auditors to reconstruct from the documents available at the PGSO (Provincial General Services Office),” the Commission added.

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