Amid syringe deal issue, DOH maintains compliance with procurement laws

(FILE) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gives an update to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Arcadia Active Lifestyle Center in Matina, Davao City on August 30, 2021. JOEY DALUMPINES/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Amid a “string of misunderstandings” over the government’s procurement of syringes, the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said it continues to comply with the procurement rules and regulations in the purchase of the items, with its secretary calling for an end to “baseless accusations” thrown against them.

“We have to follow pertinent rules and regulations, even as we undertake urgent procurements and activities for the pandemic response,” DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.

“We in the DOH have always been and continue to be committed to good governance, a cornerstone of public health,  more so now during this health emergency. Let us not put our health professionals down with baseless accusations,” he added.

This, after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the government “dropped the ball again” on an opportunity to acquire 50 million syringes when the DOH offered to pay at a “hallucinatory” price.

The DOH said the company offered to supply 0.3ml syringes, which the department cannot act on since it was an unsolicited proposal.

“There seems to be a string of misunderstandings regarding this issue. For one, the DOH is not procuring 0.3ml syringes at the moment, as our CHDs (Centers for Health Development) and hospitals have been given funds to procure the available alternative, tuberculin syringes,” Duque said.

“What we are procuring are 0.5ml syringes, and as part of our pool of suppliers, we invited as many suppliers as we can to get the best price for the government,” Duque added.

Nonetheless, the DOH said it included the company in its pool of suppliers for the emergency procurement of 0.5ml syringes and sent out Requests for Quotations to the said firm and 50 other local suppliers.

The DOH said it “earnestly responded” to the queries of the company through its technical staff, who are well-versed in the procurement process for health commodities and are specifically tasked to address queries from suppliers.

But according to the DOH, the supplier questioned the department’s Approved Budget for Contract (ABC) or the maximum contract price for the 0.5ml syringes for being too low.

The DOH said it had to reiterate to the supplier the provision on Ceiling for Bid Prices of the 2016 Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Duque also explained that the DOH was able to procure 0.5ml syringes in April 2021 at P2.38 each, which it used as the basis for its approved budget contract.

“The UNICEF-procured syringes are 0.3ml, and so their price is not comparable to that of 0.5ml syringes. Moreover, DOH was able to procure the 0.5ml syringes last April 2021 at PHP 2.38, and has used such cost for its ABC,” Duque said.

Locsin had said the DOH offered to pay USD 4.7 cents or P2.39.

“…no one on the planet makes special PFIZER LOW DEAD VOLUME SYRINGES that cheap; 7 cents is the absolute lowest. UNICEF pays double. Make all purchases public,” Locsin said in a Dec. 11 tweet.

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JPV