MORE than 10 years after it delivered various medicines and hospital supplies to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Health Service Command (AFPHSC) from September to December 2014, the Ecila Pharma Inc. may finally get paid.
In an en banc decision released last week, the Commission on Audit (COA) partially granted its 2022 petition saying there is no question that Ecila Pharma is entitled to compensation for completing deliveries as required.
However, COA did not approve the entire P12,958,776.25 being claimed, and instead deducted undated sales invoices and cost variance, bringing the sum down to P12.74 million.
Based on the claimant’s petition, it was contracted to deliver medicines and medical supplies by the AFPHSC in 2014 as supported by the Certificates of Delivery and Acceptance both dated December 17, 2024.
The delivery vouchers were prepared during the fiscal year, but funding proved insufficient to make full payments.
The General Headquarters (GHQ) Accounting Center processed the payment through the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel (J1) but the commander of the GHQ Service Command declined to sign the disbursement vouchers on the ground that a long time had passed since the date of delivery, hence he was unable to physically inspect the delivered items.
In July 2018, the AFPHSC issued an acknowledgement receipt followed by the 6th AFP Field Accounting Service Unit of AFPHSC’s issuance of a certification dated July 14, 2021 that the supplier has not been paid for the 2014 transactions.
“In this case, Ecila Pharma Inc. was able to substantiate its claim by submitting pertinent documents such as demand letters/requests, sales invoices, and certificates of delivery and acceptance acknowledging that the items were actually delivered. The deliveries made had not yet been paid as certified by AFPHSC. Hence, Ecila Pharma Inc. should be compensated,” the COA said.
Since the AFPHSC did not dispute the existence of the obligation, the commission held that the amount due the supplier can be verified through the documents submitted by the claimant firm including disbursement vouchers based on the principle of quantum meruit.
“The principle prevents undue enrichment based on the equitable postulate that it is unjust for a person to retain any benefit without paying for it. Considering the attendant circumstances, it is only just and equitable that the claim of Ecila Pharma Inc. be granted,” the COA said.
