TWENTY-FIVE Mahindra patrol jeeps of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Central Visayas have not been used due to defects.
PRO-Central Visayas Director Debold Sinas said the common defects were found in the airconditioning units, brakes, transmissions and tie rods.
But she said there are still 135 functioning Mahindra vehicles and they are being used by mobile patrol units and other police offices.
Sinas said they will cooperate if an investigation on the Philippine National Police's purchase of 2,045 Mahindra patrol vehicles deemed unfit for police operations by the Commission on Audit (COA) will be done.
The vehicles worth P1.8 billion were purchased during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III in 2015.
Senator Grace Poe has called for a Senate inquiry into the purchase. The state auditors noted that the patrols were purchased without any operations needs assessment.
The COA report stated that the Mahindra patrol cars were unfit for use in police operations due to frequent breakdowns. Some police officers reported that Mahindra vehicles consumed too much fuel.
The government auditors also noted that there is limited availability of spare parts and the company that supplied the vehicles has poor after sales services.
Meanwhile, Sinas said PRO-Central Visayas will receive 31 new patrol cars from the national headquarters.
The vehicles will be distributed to the police offices in Cebu Province, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Siquijor, Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City. (KAL/SunStar Cebu)