DBM: PPE purchased in 2015 cost 50% more

MANILA, Philippines — After several senators last week hit the purchase of the allegedly overpriced personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits by the government, Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao said similar items bought by the Aquino administration toward the end of its term were more expensive by about 50 percent.

Lao sent a copy of the Sept. 28, 2015, purchase order of the Department of Health (DOH) for 2,500 sets of PPE composed of goggles, gloves, shoe covers, coveralls, surgical gowns, face masks, surgical masks, and head caps for P3,500 per set.

The contract worth P8.75 million was then awarded to Quezon-City based Rebmann Inc., which sourced the PPE locally from manufacturers 3M and TG Medical.

The PPE purchased in 2015 were intended for the DOH’s Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB), which had a higher approved procurement budget of P10 million.

On June 23, 2016, Rebmann Inc. again bagged a P14.49-million deal with the DOH, which records showed bought 3,750 eight-item PPE at P3,864 per set, higher compared to the 2015 contract.

The 2016 purchase order showed that the coveralls, goggles and surgical masks were imported from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.

The PPE bought in 2016 were distributed to school-based health stations through the DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program Management Office, which had a budget of P15 million.

The documents showed that these procurements in 2015 and 2016 underwent competitive bidding, although Rebmann Inc. was the lone eligible bidder on both occasions.

Both 2015 and 2016 purchase orders were signed by then Health Undersecretary Vicente Y. Belizario Jr., on behalf of the health secretary.

The PPE purchased by the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (PS-DBM) headed by Lao through emergency/negotiated procurement under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act had a budget of P2,000 per set based on the DOH’s requirements, PS-DBM said last week.

Asked by the Inquirer if he intentionally wanted to compare PPE purchases made by the Aquino administration with those bought by the Duterte administration amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lao replied: “Yes, we compared the two administrations because they said we sourced expensive items. So we matched who’s more expensive—them or us.”

Lao was referring to Senators Franklin Drilon and Risa Hontiveros, allies of former President Benigno Aquino III, who last week blasted the allegedly overpriced PPE and testing kits bought by PS-DBM.