No payment yet for Gwen medallions

Capitol may not pay the supplier for the medals after finding out a deficiency in the contract.

Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale’s spokesperson Dara Acusar told Cebu Daily News this after they have reviewed the contract last week.

Acusar said  the things that were not in place included the failure of the supplier to deliver the medals 15 days after its procurement in June last year.

Acusar also said that they are not yet keen on disbursing funds for the medals after the deficiency was discovered.

“This is a repeat order. I’m sure there’s already a mold for that. How come it was not delivered after the date of the procurement?” she added.

Acusar said  they will have to study the contract to see if it could still be rectified.

However, Acusar reiterated that the Capitol is not keen on distributing the medals bearing suspended Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s image.

“We cannot distribute that,” she said in a phone interview.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who was meted a six-month suspension in December last year, ordered from Suarez Arts and Metal Technology 2,600 medals in June last year. Engraved in the “Governor’s Excellence Award” medal is the face of the suspended governor.

Magpale earlier said that the provincial government is obliged to pay for the medals but she emphasized that she cannot pay for it now.

A purchase order worth P520,000, consisting of 1,300 silver medallions and 1,300 brass medallions was recently presented to Magpale’s office for payment.

Magpale, who routinely tells suppliers that the Capitol could only afford installment payments for priority needs due to cash flow problems, said the volume order was large.

Magpale said there were suggestions to return the medals and have them melted down and recast. But she said the province would have to spend another amount for this process.

A ban against placing the name or image 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 Governments signed by the late Secretary Jesse Robredo.

While no penalty is stated in the memo, the practice is listed as an example of “irregular expenditures” in circular No. 2012-003 of the Commission on Audit based on the DILG policy. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent