PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Guillermo Eleazar said they will look into the discrepancies noted by the Commission on Audit (CA), particularly in the transfer of firearms and body armor vests to police regional offices (PROs).
Eleazar said he has ordered the PNP’s accounting division, Directorate for Comptrollership and the Directorate for Logistics to find out why the records of the national headquarters and the regional offices do not match.
"They should reconcile the records and correct the discrepancies to avoid possible issues in the deployment of weapons and other equipment to the police regional offices,” he said.
In its 2020 report, the COA noted that the books of accounts of 11 PROs did not match the number of items that were supposedly transferred to them as indicated in the records from the PNP's headquarters. These items included 9mm pistols, basic assault rifles, enhanced combat helmets and tactical vests.
The 11 PROs are those in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The COA report also flagged 29 procurement contracts entered into by the Special Action Force with various suppliers that have not yet been delivered.
The COA recommended that the SAF terminate the contracts for the acquisition of troop carriers, armored vehicles, machine guns, rifles, grenade and rocket launchers, pistols, mortar, parachutes and tactical vests, among others.
“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,” said Eleazar.
“We will consult with our PNP Legal Service kung ano ang mga susunod na hakbang na aming dapat gawin hinggil dito. These contracts are for the improvement of the elite force’s operational capability. Kaya’t ang focus natin dito ay talagang ma-i-deliver sa ating SAF ang mga equipment na makatutulong ng malaki sa kanilang operasyon,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)