COA flags P400 million in DepEd contracts

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged more than P400 million worth of procurements in the Department of Education (DepEd) for the prohibited practice of “splitting” purchase contracts into smaller and easier-to-approve orders.

State auditors noted that the splitting of transactions was done by at least seven DepEd school division offices and three regional offices.

Most of them were in DepEd’s Cagayan Valley regional office, which had P245 million worth of such transactions.

Other cases were found in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) office.

Apart from splitting contracts, the COA also called out the DepEd for P24.4 million in transactions that specified certain brands for computer printers, universal power supplies, extension cords, laptops, projectors, and televisions, which is also prohibited.

—DEMPSEY REYES

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