Solon to grill OVP over procurement law snub

Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte (File photo from Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — ACT Teachers party-list representative France Castro intends to question the Office of the Vice President (OVP) about audit observations that showed its failure to fully observe procurement laws for establishing satellite offices (SOs).

On Tuesday, Castro plans to grill the OVP about the audit results showing its lack of full compliance with procurement laws in developing satellite offices (SOs).

COA reviewed OVP’s 2022 financial transactions and found that reimbursing OVP officers didn’t align with the procurement law’s transparency goals.

“We are deeply concerned about the OVP’s alleged shortcuts in procurement processes. This is a matter that should not be taken lightly, especially considering that millions, even billions, of taxpayer’s money are involved,” Castro said in a statement.

“We will not let this pass without proper investigation and accountability. It is our duty to ensure that public funds are spent in a transparent and accountable manner,” she added.

COA had said OVP provided a quotation to show that the lowest-possible price was acquired during bidding.

However, the commission maintained the skipping of steps in the procurement law done by OVP officers meant the intent of the legislation was not attained.

In response, OVP admitted it went through this route because of time constraints.

It also emphasized to COA that the SO staff exercised due diligence in finding the PPE and semi-expandable equipment.

INQUIRER.net has sought the side of the OVP over the issue and has yet to reply as of posting time.

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