WAITING Between 2018 and 2021, the Philippine International Trading Corp. managed to deliver some P744 million worth of equipment requested by the Philippine National Police, out of the P1.3-billion funding it received in 2016, according to a report by the Commission on Audit. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Bomb-sniffing dogs and assorted police equipment worth nearly half a billion pesos have not yet been delivered by the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) since it received a P1.348-billion fund for the procurement from the Philippine National Police six years ago, the Commission on Audit (COA) has reported.
In 2016, the PNP transferred the fund to the PITC to purchase, among others, utility trucks, genetic DNA analyzers, tactical or handheld radios, light personnel carrier, generators, motorcycles, ponchos and automatic grenade launchers, the COA said in its 2021 audit report on the PNP that was published on its website this week.
“Although completion of deliveries is expected in 2022, delays in the procurement by PITC and the schedule of deliveries by suppliers affected the operations of PNP and deprived its personnel of timely use of the equipment,” the audit body said.
For cost efficiency
The PITC is a state-owned and -controlled corporation, which provides, among others, the “most efficient and cost-effective procurement services” to other government agencies. It is attached to the Department of Trade and Industry.
During the years 2018 to 2021, the PITC delivered and liquidated some of the requested items worth P744,848,393.32, the COA said.
This left a balance of P602,768,059.58, or about 44.7 percent of the original amount handed to the PITC, as of end-December 2021, it said.
The balance included P486,291,674.21 for other items that had not been delivered, P56,059,825.00 items that were delivered but not yet liquidated or distributed to PNP sites and P60,416,560.37 in savings, the COA said.
“Although the fund was made available in 2016, the noted procurement backlogs in the PITC occurred because contracts for the requested items were only awarded in 2021,” the audit body said.
Helmets, goggles, dogs These contracts included procurement for: enhanced combat helmets worth P11.59 million; dogs for explosives detection worth P22.497 million; night vision goggles worth P93.4 million; portable communication system integrators worth P33.56 million; utility trucks worth P131.65 million; 7.62mm sniper rifles worth P144.63 million; and office equipment.
The undelivered contracts are for 2,005 enhanced combat helmets, 305 night-vision goggles, 34 utility trucks and 114 sniper rifles. The contracts for the 45 bomb-sniffing dogs and 22 units of portable communication system integrators were delivered, but their distribution was still ongoing as of end-2021.
The PITC is expected to complete the deliveries to the PNP this year.
The COA observed that in 2016, the PNP’s national bids and awards committee (BAC) “seemingly lacked proficiency and capability to procure the equipment, which paved the way to transfer the procurement activities to PITC.”
Remit fund if unused
But the state auditor noted that in the following year the PNP “obtained a high absorptive capacity in all its procurements.”
This was achieved by designating capable BAC members who frequently attended procurement-related seminars, which allowed the PNP to “procure internally, thereby reducing procurement backlogs and avoiding service fees.”
The PNP was told by the COA to require the PITC to ensure the timely delivery of items requested for procurement, to impose liquidated damages on the PITC’s suppliers for delayed deliveries, and to refund or remit any unused funds or savings generated from completed projects.
In response to the COA’s recommendations, the PNP said in March 2022 that its Directorate for Logistics wrote the PITC to ask for the immediate scheduling of the deliveries of the remaining items from suppliers and to direct the PITC to impose damages for delayed projects.
The PNP said that the PITC acknowledged its letter and that the procurement agency noted its demand for timely delivery of all equipment from suppliers and the refund of all unused funds from projects that would be completed in 2022.
The PNP also said the P13.2 million in refund of the savings from completed projects will be recognized in its books of accounts, and that the PITC already remitted P6.36 million in interests in cash deposits to the treasury bureau.