PNP’s bids and awards committee must have ‘balls,’ says Sen. Bato

MANILA, Philippines—Pick people with integrity and “balls” in your bids and awards committee (BAC), Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa urged the Philippine National Police on Tuesday.

Dela Rosa gave this advice when told during the hearing of the Senate committee on public order, which he chairs, that to avoid being charged in court, the PNP had opted to procure their equipment through the Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC).

The PITC is a trading company under the Department of Trade and Industry.

“Insofar as I can recall sir, especially during your time and even before you were the chief PNP , the PITC has been resorted to us as a way for the PNP to procure dahil at that time sir iniiwasan ng PNP na magkakaso (because at that time the PNP was preventing having cases),” PNP Crime Laboratory director Brig. Gen. Steve Ludan said.

But Ludan quickly added that the PNP is now procuring on its own and has since then improved the utilization rate of its budget.

“Precisely, ganyan talaga dapat para directly answerable, accountable ‘yung supplier at kayo mag-follow up,” Dela Rosa told the police official.

(Precisely, that should really be the case so that suppliers would be directly answerable and accountable, and you will follow up on the orders.)

“…Kasi kung takot kayo magkakaso dahil marami ngang nakakulong noon ng mga opisyal ng PNP di ba, nakulong dahil dyan sa mga procurement na yan, e do your thing properly. At huwag kayong mag assign sa BAC ng mga opisyal na takot magkakaso. Bakit takot kang magkakaso kung ginagawa mo properly yung trabaho mo?” he said.

(If you are afraid because many police officials have already been jailed because of these procurements, then do your thing properly. And don’t appoint officials in the BAC who are afraid of cases. Why do you have to be afraid if you’re doing your job properly?)

“So dapat number one, i-consider ninyo, ang ilagay nyo mga members ng BAC ay mga opisyal aside na matino ayaw gumawa ng corruption ay may bayag na tumatayo na tama yung ginagawa nila para mabilis… hindi iyong ipapasa na lang nyo sa PITC dahil takot kayong magkakaso. Thats’ very wrong, very wrong ‘yan…” the senator went on.

(So number one, consider appointing officials who are aside from corruption-free, they must also have balls also to stand up for what is right…Don’t give it to PITC just because you don’t want to get charged. That’s very wrong.)

Dela Rosa himself brought up the issue at the start of the hearing when he asked about the reported undelivered PNP equipment worth more than P1 billion by the PITC.

He mentioned the 2019 Commission on Audit’s report that of the P1.347 billion funds the PNP had transferred to the PITC to buy crime-fighting equipment, only P311 million worth of items had been delivered.

JE