MOST everyone is trying to survive, eke out a living and dodge the virus, so that almost no one noticed that the Department of Health (DOH) had been incurring deficiencies in the management of funds used to counter the COVID-19 epidemic, until the Commission on Audit (COA) blew the whistle.
Such deficiencies, which President Duterte said involved only lack of documents to explain various expenses but not necessarily the loss of government funds due to graft and corruption, were about the handling of P67.32 billion. The President is right in saying that it is improbable to steal this kind of money, but he is wrong in saying that it is “impossible.”
Thanks to the COA, this issue is being ventilated by all those who have a stake in the fight against the epidemic.
Earlier, the government audit body flagged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the People’s Television Network, and the Local Government Academy of the DILG for various violations, all involving money.
‘President Duterte, who at past
midnight on Tuesday said he will
not allow a Cabinet member to steal even P500 from the public coffers, should walk the talk and look into these transactions made by his appointees in the DICT.’
It looks like every day, there is a new report of indelicacy in governance coming from the COA, with one indelicacy overshadowing the previous on a daily basis.
Yesterday, Malaya Business Insight ran the story that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) under Secretary Gregorio Honasan, purchased 1,000 laptop computers, 26,500 tablets, and 1,001 pocket Wifi worth P170 million from a firm listed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as engaged in “general construction.” The supplier, Lex-Mar General Merchandise and Contractor which is involved in construction, bagged the contract worth four times its paid-up capital of P44.5 million. This reminds us of the P700,000 requested by the Department of Health to buy one laptop, which was withdrawn when media got wind of it.
Most notable among the constitutional body’s observations in this deal is that the laptops, tablets, etc. were distributed/donated to the public school teachers and students of the Pinaglabanan Elementary School and other schools/offices in San Juan City and Makati — two of the richest cities of the country. Transaction is also outside the department’s mandate of “formulating and implementing policies and initiatives.” Nowhere in the law that created DICT does it say it will purchase and donate computer gadgets, even to other government agencies, although in practice, it does. And no one is complaining (except the COA) because clearly the local officials and the DICT purchasers are profiting from this activity, through commissions and goodwill with their constituents.
The COA said these purchases were categorized as “emergency cases” which means they do not need public bidding to be consummated, and that they are part of the government’s response to a “public health emergency due to COVID-19.” They cited Department Circular No. 12-A issued on June 16, 2020 and DC No. 12-B dated June 17, 2020 as the basis for the transactions.
President Duterte, who at past midnight on Tuesday said he will not allow a Cabinet member to steal even P500 from the public coffers, should walk the talk and look into these transactions made by his appointees in the DICT.
