THE Commission on Audit has ordered the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to pay the billing of Best Diagnostic Corp. for the unpaid Mobile Annual Medical and Physical Examination conducted for its personnel in 2022 in the sum of P712,460.
In an en banc decision released last week, the COA upheld the validity of the contract between the OVP and Best Diagnostic even if it was signed on December 29, 2020 but was undertaken only on February 24 and 25, 2022.
Records showed the claimant firm won the contract through a public bidding on December 2, 2019 for submitting the lowest calculated bid. The Notice of Award was issued on February 21, 2020.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the procedure to be deferred, so that it took almost two years before the physical examinations could be conducted on OVP officials and employees.
When Best Diagnostic sought payment from the OVP, it was told that there were expected delays as the approving signatories were changed because of the new administration that came to power during the election year.
In a letter dated August 19, 2022, Atty. Rosalynne L. Sanchez, Director, Administrative and Financial Services Office, OVP, informed the petitioner that they can no longer process the payment without the necessary approval of this Commission because the appropriation for the transaction had already lapsed.
In its claim filed on November 15, 2022, Best Diagnostics argued that it is entitled to be paid, considering that the services had been fully delivered.
