By Peter Tabingo and Raymond Africa
THE Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) and the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) have yet to deliver P2.593 billion worth of supplies ordered by the PNP dating back to 2016, including ammunition and service vehicles.
As far as the Commission on Audit is concerned, the waiting period of more than four years is more than enough as it recommended that the PNP leadership demand that both government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) refund the entire sum to be remitted back to the Bureau of Treasury.
Of the two, the PS-DBM has the bigger undelivered procurement contracts totaling P1.988 billion as of yearend 2020.
The balance of fund transfers to the PITC amounted to P604.853 million for purchases that remain outstanding for more than four years now.
Government auditors pointed out that the mandate of both GOCCs was to help government agencies speed up their procurement process for urgent supplies and equipment.
“In CY 2016, PNP transferred a total of P1,347,616,452.90 to PITC for the procurement of mobility, firearms, and other equipment. However, P604,853,120 remained undelivered even after the lapse of more than four years contrary to the objective,” the COA noted.
The biggest chunk of the undelivered purchases was the P542.755 million balance of the P1.009 billion contract for the acquisition of 42 utility trucks and other line items.
Notified that the COA wants the full balance refunded, the PNP Directorate for Logistics said it can no longer do so since, after more than four years, the transactions are finally on the post-qualification stage and are awaiting issuance of notices of award.
Regarding the PS-DBM balance of P1.988 billion, auditors noted that P1.16 billion is already pending between one to five years, P829.88 million has been on the wait list for five to 10 years while the remaining P255,439.99 is not over 10 years.
Despite the undelivered supplies, the PNP transferred more fund to the PS-DBM in 2019 so that the balance stood at P3.822 billion as of December 31, 2019.
During the previous year, the GOCC delivered surgical gowns, firearms and other items worth P1.834 billion to bring down the balance to P1.988 billion or 52 percent of the entire amount.
Among the transactions that got caught in the bog was the purchase by the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) of caliber .40mm high explosive dual purpose ammunition worth P4.09 million which has been in the queue for more than four years.
PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar ordered the SAF to check the status of the supposed “unmet contracts” from various suppliers flagged by the COA in its 2020 report.
“I have directed the leadership of the SAF to determine and immediately report to me why some of these procurement contracts have not materialized. I have also tasked the SAF to report the current status of the contracts,” Eleazar said.
The COA, in its 2020 audit report recently released, called the attention of the SAF on the undelivered 29 procurement contracts it entered into with various suppliers.
The COA also recommended that SAF terminate the contracts for the purchase of troop carriers, armored vehicles, machine guns, rifles, grenades and rocket launchers, pistols, parachutes, and tactical vests, among others.
Eleazar said they will consult with the PNP Legal Service on what actions should be taken on the unmet procurements.
Last Monday, Eleazar ordered all concerned police units to look into the discrepancies on the records for transfer of firearms, body armors, and other equipment from the National Headquarters in Camp Crame to 11 police regional offices that COA also flagged.
