MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday defended its decision to purchase equipment for its satellite offices without undergoing procurement procedures, saying these were nevertheless validated and passed the Commission on Audit (COA) audit of their office.
“For the information of the public, the OVP has maintained an unqualified opinion on its financial statements, and the COA did not issue any notice of suspension or disallowance against the OVP,” it said in a statement. It also dismissed speculations that the purchase of equipment, worth P668,197.20, was “mired in corruption.”
In its audit report of the OVP for the fiscal year 2022, the COA flagged the OVP for buying equipment for its satellite offices without observing procurement rules and resorting to reimbursement.
The COA advised the OVP to stop its procurements by reimbursement as this “defeats the purpose of the procurement law,” and to properly plan and schedule its procurements.
The satellite offices in Dagupan, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Davao, and Tandag were established on the first day that Vice President Sara Duterte assumed office, and were envisioned to help expand the OVP services’ reach outside Metro Manila.
But while the OVP attached quotations for the equipment to ensure they were bought at the lowest price, the COA said its “failure to undergo these purchases in processes and procedures required under RA (Republic Act) No. 9184 and its IRR defeats the purpose of the Procurement Law.”
Duterte’s critics, including Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party list Rep. France Castro, compared the audit observations with former Vice President Leni Robredo’s stint at the OVP, which achieved an unqualified opinion for four straight years. An unqualified opinion is when a government office has fairly presented its financial statements according to generally accepted accounting standards.
They also noted that the office’s confidential funds spending under Vice President Duterte went from zero in 2021 to P125 million in 2022 even as their assistance subsidies went down by P147 million in 2022.
The OVP did not respond to requests for comment on the confidential funds. However, it did lash back at Castro and said it wanted to “disabuse the imagination of ACT Teachers party list and the insinuation that the procurement of OVP satellite office equipment was mired in corruption.
Castro, however, said that the OVP’s purchase of equipment via reimbursement should “not be taken lightly” and will be raised during the OVP’s 2024 budget deliberations.
“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] money are involved,” Castro said.