Another supplier is seeking payment from the Cebu provincial government, this time for 2,600 medals intended for public school children who graduate at the top of their class.
The face and name of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia are engraved on the brass and silver medals to be given out as the “Governor’s Excellence Award”.
A sample of the medals was recently sent to the office of Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale with a purchase order for the amount of P520,000 that was approved months earlier in July 2012 when Garcia was still in charge.
Will she approve payment?
It depends, said Magpale yesterday.
“If the Purchase Order is okay, we will submit it for pre-audit. But I think the medals are too expensive. The province really has no enough money to pay for these medals at this point in time,” Magpale told Cebu Daily News over the phone.
“Let’s see if we can settle our dues. If everything is in order, we might pay. I pity the supplier,” she added.
The full order of medals has not yet been delivered to the Capitol but its new feature of a “3-D image of Governor on the Design”, as specified in the P.O. is sure to be a stumbling block for payment.
The new Capitol administration under Magpale has made it a point to rename programs that carry the name of Gwen (the e-Gwen program for local governments was recast to Our Sustainable Cebu) and to reformat media projects that lavished her with near-exclusive exposure like Sugbo TV, Sugbo magazine.
BAN ON LABELS
A legal question also arises in the labeling of government property.
A ban exists against putting the names or images of government officials in “billboards and signages of government programs, projects and properties” under Memorandum Circular No. 2010-101 of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The ban stems from one of President Aquino’s first Cabinet orders when he was elected in 2010.
The memo said “the practice… has been noticeably abused and misused by some public officials for their personal interests and has taken the credit away from the taxpayers who are the ones paying for such programs or projects.”
The medals cost P200 each and were ordered “for distribution to the different schools in the Province of Cebu” , according to the Purchase Order for supplier Suarez Arts Metal Technology based in Cebu City.
Two types were ordered. One batch of 1,300 “imported silver medals” was ordered with antique silver finish. Another batch of 1,300 “imported brass medals” were specified for “antique gold finish”.
Garcia ‘s statement was not available last night. Text messages to her mobile phone seeking comment were not answered. Her brother, Rep. Pablo John Garcia, who is running for Cebu governor, said he was not aware of the order for medals.
The medals appear to be part of the scholarship program for poor but deserving students revived by Gwen Garcia when she was first elected in 2004.
Cebu province has about 1,100 public schools.
Beneficiaries of the scholarship program are the valedictorians, salutatorians and top 20 honor students who graduate from public high schools in the different towns and cities of Cebu province.
Those who qualify as scholars will receive an allowance of P1,000 a month and can enroll in education, engineering and computer related courses at the Cebu Normal University and Cebu Technological University (CTU).
Taking its cue from the DILG ban against mounting the name or face of public officials in government property, auditors have listed the practice as an example of “irregular expenditures”.
The ban is specified as a violation in Commission on Audit Circular No. 2012-003 which contains “Updated guidelines for the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant and unconscionable expenses.
REFUSED TO ACCEPT
The samples of the silver and brass medals with Garcia’s profile engraved on the front were brought last week to the office of Magpale at the Legislative Building.
Magpale, who was in Bantayan Island at the time, said her staff refused to accept the medals. They said only the acting governor could decide the matter.
“I haven’t seen those medals yet myself. We really don’t know about that. We have to work backwards (to check the records). I’ll see what I can do,” she said.
She said that if the medals were ordered after the suspension of Garcia last December 19, Magpale said she has no responsibility to pay for them.
The purchase order dated July 4, 2012 was initialed by Garcia and approved on her behalf by Provincial Administrator Eduardo Habin.
It said delivery was to be made to the Provincial General Services Office of the Capitol and take place 15 days upon receipt of the approved Purchase Order.