The Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) on Friday stated the Commission on Audit (COA) didn’t advocate the blacklisting of suppliers concerned within the alleged Department of Education’s (DepEd) “pricey” laptops mess.
In an announcement, the PS-DBM stated that the state auditor’s audit statement on the company for 2021 “on the DepEd laptop DID NOT recommend the termination and blacklisting of the supplier.”
“What COA recommended for that specific item was the creation of an Investigation Committee, which was adopted by previous management and submitted to COA, and was reflected with a ‘COMPLIED’ status in COA’s Status of Implementation under its 2022 Annual Audit Report (AAR),” the company stated.
Meanwhile, in its 2022 audit report on the PS-DBM, the COA stated that “the blacklisting and termination review committee has not yet conducted blacklisting proceedings over the subject contracts, thus, a resolution on the termination of contracts or blacklisting of suppliers has not been issued.”
The PS-DBM added that on prime of the creation of the Investigation Committee, the present PS-DBM administration, underneath the management of Executive Director Dennis Santiago, endorsed the DepEd laptop computer procurement to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for an impartial probe.”
“PS-DBM is fully cooperating with the NBI by complying with specific subpoenas requesting for documents, and by allowing PS-DBM staff to be interviewed on the matter. To date, the NBI investigation is still ongoing,” it stated.
The company added that the advice to “immediately conduct contract termination and blacklisting proceedings” was for a unique laptop computer procurement involving a unique provider, not the DepED contract.
To recall, in its 2021 audit report on the DepEd, state auditors flagged the Education Department’s buy of laptops for lecturers to implement distance studying amid the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the bought tools as allegedly “pricey and outdated” as there have been extra inexpensive and higher choices obtainable.
The COA raised issues in regards to the DepEd’s buy of laptops for lecturers to implement distance studying amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COA stated that the acquisition of the costlier laptops than those specified resulted within the procurement of fewer models, depriving over 28,000 lecturers of the profit.
The audit report stated that the 68,500 laptops that have been purported to be procured have been diminished to 39,583 models primarily because of the large enhance within the estimated price – from P35,046 to P58,300, anchored on the DBM-PS’ suggestion, which was duly accepted by the DepEd.
State auditors stated the DepEd settled and agreed with the worth and technical specs offered by PS-DBM.
In January, the Senate blue ribbon committee beneficial the submitting of graft and perjury expenses towards some former and present officers of the DepEd and the PS-DBM over the “highly irregular” laptop computer procurement undertaking in 2021.
The PS-DBM assured the general public that it’s totally cooperating with the COA and anxious authorities businesses “to come up with an honest, transparent, just, and fair resolution to the issue because the Filipino people deserve nothing less.”—LDF, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
