Secretary Carandang will get no apology from Rep. Mitos Magsaysay

Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay will not apologize to Secretary Ricky Carandang for bringing up the issue of his allegedly overpriced purchase of Apple computers without a public bidding.

Instead, Magsaysay wants Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), to explain how two biddings for a common item like computers could fail and to justify the negotiated purchase of the Apple products for P1.6 million that a militant group said was extravagant.

“I think he should be the one who should explain and prove that the government got the best deal for the computers and that a negotiated bidding was the only way he could get the best deal,” Magsaysay said in a phone interview.

Carandang called the furor over the computers a “bum steer” and demanded that Magsaysay apologize.

But the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has joined Magsaysay in demanding an explanation from Carandang.

“If Mr. Carandang only checked the Internet, there are a lot of laptop brands that his office could buy between P20,000 and P30,000 per unit—P20,000 is 200 percent cheaper than P67,000. A P30,000 laptop is more than 100 percent cheaper than a P67,000 laptop. Is Mr. Carandang the newest Imelda Marcos in Malacañang?” Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap said Sunday in a statement, alluding to the former first lady well-known for her extravagant ways.

Hicap said the government could have saved between P880,000 and P1.2 million if it had bought a lower-priced computer brand.

Carandang had said the government saved money since the Apple computers were acquired at below market price, which he said was P75,000 each.

Magsaysay pointed out that Carandang’s preference for a premium brand went against President Aquino’s call for frugality in government.