Comelec shamed for purchase of expensive furniture, cars
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday questioned the extravagance of the furniture purchased for the refurbishing of cottages of the Commission on Elections in Baguio City and the procurement of new vehicles for officials.
During the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed budget for Comelec on Wednesday, Cayetano revealed that the Commission en banc awarded a contract amounting to P3.350 million to a company called Paula’s Furniture based in Angeles City for the purchase of furniture for the cottages.
Included in the Notice of Award dated February 21, 2012 — copies of which were distributed to members of the media– were 20 sets of double deck beds with mattresses, 17 sets of queen-sized beds and seven sets of king-sized beds.
Cayetano questioned the worth of the queen-sized and king-sized beds which were priced at P84,600 and P91,250 each, respectively.
“All in all, they spent millions on the Baguio cottages for the commissioners. My question is, if they lack budget, why did they spend this much for this?” Cayetano said.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, during the hearing admitted that he has seen the beds and that he was unconvinced that these were worth P91,000.
Also in the list of furniture in the Notice of Award were 30 pieces of “accent chairs with armrest” priced at P17,280 each; three sets of living room furniture priced at P59,780 each set; seven sets of console tables worth P8,500 each; three sets of “reception tables with chairs” worth P15,680 each set; one set “round dining table with chairs” priced at P78,000; and one set “rectangular dining table with chairs” worth P74,180.
Cayetano also questioned the purchase of blinds and curtains totalling to P1.035 million and was awarded to Raddy’s Construction and Supply in Pasig City.
The notices of award were signed by Julio Thaddeus Hernan, Director IV of the Administrative Services Department and Chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee of the Comelec.
Aside from the furniture, Cayetano revealed that the Comelec also spent P7 million on purchasing new cars for officials including a Camry, a luxury vehicle, which he said is used by Comelec chairman.
However, he clarified that he is not yet accusing the parties involved of overpricing but nevertheless questioned why such amounts were used for extravagant items.
“There are two issues here: overpricing and extravagance,” Cayetano said.
“Even assuming that these items are not overpriced, if you can purchase a bed worth P15,000, why would you buy a bed worth P90,000 using people’s money?” he added.
He added that the money used for the cottages would have been enough to construct 20 to 25 classrooms.
Nevertheless, Cayetano said that he will look deeper into the transactions and that he will investigate the possibility that there was overpricing in the purchase of the furniture and of there were any violations in the bidding process.
