3 police majors in hot water over P334-M body cam deal

MANILA, Philippines — Three police majors face the axe for allegedly making P5 million out of a deal for the purchase of body cameras, which were, ironically, intended to ensure that cops go by the book in their operations.

Body camera purchases have for a year been on the Philippine National Police’s wish list to ensure transparency in its antinarcotics operations.

The PNP officer in charge, Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa, announced on Monday that he has ordered the filing of criminal and administrative cases against Majors Emerson Sales, Rholly Caraggayan and Angel Beros.

He noted that only Beros is still in active service while Sales and Caraggayan have gone absent without leave.

Gamboa, who chairs the PNP bids and awards committee (BAC), said summary dismissal proceedings had been initiated against the police majors, all former members of the BAC technical working group (TWG), for allegedly extorting from a bidder for the P334-million body camera contract.

“In the middle of the post-qualification I found out as chairman of the BAC that three of my men in the TWG were asking money from the proponent. So I caused them to be relieved from their position as TWG,” he pointed out.

P5-M extortion

He noted that he discovered early this year the P5-million extortion after the proponent, who was eventually disqualified from the bidding to supply the PNP with 3,000 body cameras, complained about the disqualification.

“There were even checks issued in their [police majors’] name. Imagine, I don’t know with these people. I haven’t really announced that because honestly it’s a setback on the BAC because I believed we were clean. But of course it’s a very isolated case,”

Gamboa said, “I told them, ‘We are trying to prove that government procurement can be clean and here are you putting a very bad example.’ And I promised to the members of the BAC that I will dismiss these three police majors and they are undergoing now administrative proceedings.”

He added that he expects the PNP Internal Affairs Service to decide on the police majors’ fate within the month. “I am sure that they will be dismissed because this is also part of our anticorruption campaign,” Gamboa said, adding, “Appropriate criminal cases will also be filed.”

Although he considers the alleged extortion of the three police majors as a setback to the BAC, the committee is currently subjecting the six possible body cam suppliers to post-qualification evaluation.

“The procurement will include accessories, video management software, computer servers, storage and connectivity systems for the body worn cameras,” Gamboa pointed out.

Apart from a secure system a central data center, a national management and monitoring center, 17 regional monitoring centers, and 81 provincial monitoring centers will be established to support the systems for the body cameras.

Police transparency

The purchase of body cameras by the PNP was in response to public clamor in 2017 for police transparency specifically in anti-illegal drug operations.

The P334-million budget for the body cameras was released in 2018. Initial bidding for the body cameras failed since none of the bidders met the required technical specifications.

Gamboa said the BAC revised the specifications and terms of reference for the rebidding, which resulted in the lowest bidder being disqualified and the second lowest bidder being subjected to post-qualification evaluation.