MANILA, Philippines?President Benigno Aquino III Friday said the Department of Science and Technology prevented an alleged anomalous government purchase when it learned a project?s requirements were tailor-made to fit just one prospective bidder.

Aquino told reporters that the DOST upon evaluation learned that a spectrometer that will be used by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources would have cost the government P60 million instead of the legitimate cost of just P26 million to P30 million.

The DOST said the project for the ?ultrafast liquid chromatograph with multiple mass spectrometer? was locked in to a specific model and no other manufacturer could have qualified with all the items specified in the order.

Bidding for the project approved by the Arroyo administration has been put on hold by the incumbent administration.