THE Office of the Vice President (OVP) said on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, that its procurement of over P600,000 worth of equipment, flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for failure to observe procedures, had passed COA's audit.
OVP issued the statement in response to the statement of ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro, who called out the Office of Vice President for taking "alleged shortcuts in procurement processes."
"The Office of the Vice President would like to disabuse the imagination of ACT Teachers Partylist and the insinuation that the procurement of OVP Satellite Office equipment amounting to P668,197.20, the cost of which was validated by Commission on Audit and eventually passed the audit, was mired in corruption," the office said.
"The COA findings and recommendations should be enough to disappoint ACT Teachers Partylist, and if only France Castro read the COA papers, it would have saved them the time and the energy to conjure wild speculations about OVP spending," the office added.
The OVP said that the office "maintained an unqualified opinion on its financial statements, and COA did not issue any notice of suspension or disallowance against OVP."
In its 2022 annual audit report released on June 29, the COA said the OVP “failed to fully observe the processes and procedures” required under the Procurement Law in the purchase of its Property Plant and Equipment (PPE) and Semi-Expendable Equipment in satellite offices totaling to P668,197.20.
"The immediate establishment of satellite offices without enough equipment to operate led to management’s decision to resort to immediate purchase of PPE and semi-expendable property using the cash of its officers, which the OVP subsequently paid through reimbursement,” the COA report read.
“Although a quotation was attached ensuring that the lowest price was obtained in the market, OVP’s failure to undergo these purchases in processes and procedures required under RA 9184 and its IRR defeats the purpose of the Procurement Law, which is to standardize and to improve transparency in the procurement process,” it added.
OVP, in response, said the immediate establishment of the satellite offices was made due to the agency’s intention to immediately expand its services to various provinces.
The COA said the OVP agreed to stop procurement transactions on the basis of reimbursement, strictly adhere to the provisions of the Procurement Law, plan and schedule procurement of PPE and Semi-Expandable Property, and standardize and streamline processes on procurement, handling and reporting of acquired properties and equipment.
The OVP has set up satellite offices in the cities of Dagupan, Bacolod, Cauayan in Isabela, Cebu, Cotabato, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Davao and Tandag in Surigao del Sur province in a bid to make its services more accessible to the public.
The COA also noted the lack of internal guidelines and processes in handling, monitoring and reporting in-kind donations that resulted in the delay in the submission and posting of required reports, and lack of supervision in the receipt and utilization of in-kind donations in the OVP satellite offices.
The COA report also revealed that the OVP had spent its controversial P125 million confidential funds for 2022.
In a statement, Castro said she will probe Duterte's office following the COA report.
“We are deeply concerned about the OVP’s alleged shortcuts in procurement processes. This is a matter that should not be taken lightly, especially considering that millions, even billions, of taxpayer’s money are involved,” the lawmaker said.
“We will not let this pass without proper investigation and accountability. It is our duty to ensure that public funds are spent in a transparent and accountable manner,” she added.