MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (PS-DBM), together with the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), is being linked in another issue: the “undelivered” procurements for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) dating back to 2015 to 2017.
During the deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the BFP was questioned for seeking higher funding despite having high amounts of unused funds over the previous years.
BFP officer-in-charge Louie Puracan blamed the PS-DBM and the PITC, saying that their procurements from 2015 to 2017 remain undelivered—which now reflects as unutilized funds for the BFP. It is, however, not immediately clear how much these procurements are.
“In 2015, 28 fire trucks amounting to P440 million, and in 2016 and 2017, 126 firetrucks. So in the period of three years, 2015 to 2017, the procurement was done at the DBM-PS and the PITC,” Puracan said.
“However, from 2018 to 2021, the procurement is done within the bureau. The problem is that the procurements in 2015 to 2017 were still undisbursed, undelivered by the PITC and the DBM,” he added.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año backed Puracan, saying that when he assumed office in 2018, he immediately ordered that the procurements of the BFP be done within the bureau instead.
Citing his meetings with the PS-DBM, Año said the procurement agency attributed the undelivered purchases to “failed biddings.”
“When I joined the department, that is basically the first problem that I saw. Maraming procurement na ibinigay sa PS-DBM at sa PITC na hindi nila nai-deliver,” Año said.
(There were many procurements given to PS-DBM and PITC that remain undelivered.)
“We are haggling with PS-DBM and PITC na ibalik na lang sa amin yung pondo para (to return the funds to us so) we can use those funds but that is beyond our control,” he added.
Año said the DILG is still trying to get the undelivered procurements from the PS-DBM and PITC. If they cannot be delivered, Año hopes the funds can be reverted to the National Treasury and re-allocated to the BFP.
“Patuloy pa rin naming hinahabol sa mga procuring entity na ito na bilisan nila at kung hindi ba pwedeng ibalik na lnag sa amin ulit at we will procure,” Año said.
(We are still asking the procuring entities to hasten the delivery or they can return the funds to us and we will procure.)
“’Yung mga ina-allocate natin [ngayon sa 2022 budget], kami na ang nagpprocure, BFP na. Kaya lahat yan nade-deliver. Hahabulin po namin ang PS-DBM at PITC o kaya ibalik ito sa treasury tapos i-re-allocate,” he added.
(We are now the ones that will procure the allocations for the 2022 budget. So everything will be delivered. We will still go after the PS-DBM and the PITC or they can return it to the treasury and have it re-allocated.)
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate lamented the undelivered procurements, calling the process “criminally wrong.”
“Criminally wrong, this kind of set up na yung napakalaking pondo ng mga ahensya, tina-transfer nila doon sa ibang agencies for procurement when in fact they can procure it on their own as mentioned by the Secretary,” Zarate said.
(This kind of setup of transferring huge amounts of funds of agencies being transferred to procuring agencies is criminally wrong, when in fact the agencies themselves can procure on their own.)