Retards in the Government 327

 It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.

 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/8/coa-flags-doh-over-p1-93-b-doubtful-payments-for-goods-projects-services-in-2022

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Health (DOH) over the P1.93 billion procurement of goods, infrastructure projects, and consultancy services that "deprived the government of the most advantageous prices and resulted in doubtful payment transactions and significant delays in project completion."

In its 2022 audit report, COA said that the DOH failed to properly comply with Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR), which resulted in "doubtful" payments of P1,932,520,634.94.

It said there were disadvantageous provisions of Covid-19 vaccine supply agreement that placed the government in a vulnerable position, and there was no other choice but to accept since there was a high demand for vaccines and very limited supply.

Citing an example, COA said the supply agreement for the procurement of five million treatments of Sputnik V, Gamaleya Covid-19 vaccines for the National Capital Region (NCR) limited the liability of the vaccine supplier should there be delays in delivery.

It said there were also "confidentiality and non-disclosure" provisions in the vaccines contract as well as in the purchase and supply of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine which "disregarded the basic precept of transparency in government transactions."

"In light of the fact that there was a global shortage of vaccines at the time and supplies were limited, the government was put in a position where it had to accept the terms and conditions of the manufacturers on confidentiality in order to launch a Covid-19 Vaccination Program immediately," COA said.

It found several procedural deficiencies, such as an awarding of a contract to an ineligible bidder in the NCR. The failure of the contractor to provide competent and experienced materials engineer as one of the key personnel for construction and failure to submit original bid security cast doubt on the P208,279,888.87 payment made, it also said.

At the same time, COA said there were also several instances when the DOH resorted to inappropriate modes of procurement. It said in Region I, the DOH made purchases through reimbursement and spent P1,009,583.33. In Regions II, III, and XI, the DOH made procurements using petty cash funds worth P15,793,183.39, P577,308.20, and P31,369, respectively, it said.

COA pointed out delays in the procurement processes. It said that in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), there was a delay in the execution of contracts ranging from two to 119 days from receipt of Notice of Award (NOA) for the Baguio General Hospital Medical Center (BGHMC), which cost P498,766,713.74. The same was true in Region VI for the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital (WVSGH) worth P7,852,664.33, it said.

"These deficiencies may be attributed to the voluminous number of bidding activities being conducted by the DOH, lack of judicious and meticulous procurement planning, failure to conduct early procurement activities, and lack of relevant trainings of personnel assigned in procurement activities, among others," COA said.

"In sum, the noted deficiencies were not only contrary to the pertinent provisions of R.A.  No. 9184 and its RIRR but also deprived the government of the most advantageous prices, resulted in doubtful payment transactions, and had caused significant delays in the project implementation, delivery and distribution of the necessary goods and services to the public," it stressed. 

The COA has flagged the DOH over doubtful payments for goods and services which were inappropriately procured. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1209537

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the ruling of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC RTC) finding a police official guilty of malversation involving more than PHP7 million in Philippine National Police (PNP) funds, in 1992.

The anti-graft court, in a 31-page decision promulgated Sept. 5 and written by Associate Justice Georgina Hidalgo, affirmed the ruling of the QC RTC Branch 88 finding former Police Senior Insp. Mercita Eya guilty of malversation.

The lower court had sentenced Eya in two counts of malversation to a total of up to 29 years in prison and to pay fines.

Eya was relieved from her post as collecting officer and fund custodian of the 14th PNP Finance Center Unit in 1995, after an audit discovered missing funds that were part of amounts earmarked for the PNP Scholarship Fund and the PNP Trust Receipts.

The missing amounts were divided into two sums of PHP4.918 million and PHP2.341 million.

"A judicious review of the records of these cases and after a careful evaluation of the evidence presented by both the prosecution and accused-appellant during the trial of these cases as well as the arguments raised in this appeal, the Court finds no reason to disturb the findings of RTC Branch 88 as contained in its questioned joint decision," the tribunal said.

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of a police officer for graft. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1830355/pnp-900-erring-cops-sacked-from-january-2022-to-august-2023

The Philippine National Police (PNP) removed 935 straying officers from January 2022 to August 2023 as the institution continues to cleanse its ranks.

The PNP reported Tuesday that during the period, it had resolved 4,082 cases involving members who committed wrongdoings, resulting in the dismissal of 935, suspension of 1,850, and demotion of 242 officers.

It added that the resolution of cases also resulted in reprimands (680), forfeiture of salaries (159), restrictions (110), and withholding of privileges (106).

“The PNP is strengthening its Internal Disciplinary Mechanism and intensifies efforts in reiterating the Doctrine of Command Responsibility and Police Operational Procedures to every member on the ground,” PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said in a statement.

“We are bringing across our message to the people that the PNP leadership strongly condemns any wrongdoing of its few misguided members,” he added.

935 PNP officers have been removed from the service between January 2022 and August 2023. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/11/corruption-in-ph-can-t-get-solved-in-our-lifetime-ombudsman

A dejected Ombudsman Samuel Martires told congressmen Monday, Sept. 11 that he believed corruption in the Philippines won't get solved within "our lifetime".

Martires, during the House Committee on Appropriations' deliberation on the Office of the Ombudsman's 2024 budget, discussed the extent of corruption in the country.

"What's happening now is, we've lost our respect for God, we've lost our respect for ourselves. So, not during our lifetime, we'll be able to solve corruption," he said.

Martires, who heads the body that serves as the investigator of cases of graft and corruption in government, described incidents of corruption in the country as "endemic".

"Now, corruption in the Philippines is becoming like fashion; it becomes a fad," Martires said.

"Because money becomes power; and if you have power, eh talagang...sikat ka.Tumataas po ang incidence mg corruption sa bawat ahensya ng gobyerno. At magugulat po kayo," he told the appropriations panel.

(If you have money, then you're really popular. Corruption incidence is going up in all agencies of government. And you'll be surprised.)

(There are departments in government that you don't realize is corrupt, but is actually more corrupt than other agencies that are corrupt.)

The Ombudsman says corruption is endemic and will not be defeated in our lifetime. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1209764

A candidate for the village council of Pandag, Maguindanao del Sur, was killed in an ambush Tuesday afternoon in President Quirino town of this province.

In a report Wednesday, Maj. Davis Dulawan, President Quirino town police chief, said pursuit operations are ongoing against two gunmen on a motorbike who carried out the attack.

The victim, identified as Tayan Mamalinta, 50, was driving his motorbike along the national highway of the town when ambushed by riding-in tandem gunmen around 3 p.m.

The attackers, who remain unidentified, sped off in the interiors of the town following the incident.

Police investigators are also trying to determine if the attack was triggered by a personal grudge or related to next month’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Mamalinta, head of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is seeking a seat in the village council of Barangay Pandag Poblacion, Pandag town, Maguindanao del Sur.

A candidate for village council has been assassinated. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1830646/former-tuguegarao-police-station-chief-nabbed-for-slander

A retired police officer was arrested during a police operation in Tuguegarao last September 8 for slander, according to the Integrity Monitoring Group (IMEG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In a report, the IMEG said that its operatives collared 49-year-old Major Arthur Sto. Tomas, formerly assigned to Regional Mobile Force Battalion 2 as Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Group team leader, in a manhunt operation along Maggay Street, Cataggaman, Nuevo.

Police said the operation stemmed from the warrant of arrest issued by Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Second Capital Judicial Region, Branch 1 Presiding Judge Hon. Racquel C. Reyes-Aglaua against Sto. Tomas for the crime of slander.

The suspect committed the offense when he was the chief of the investigation section of Tuguegarao City Police Station in 2017. A client lodged a complaint against Sto. Tomas in the same year after he uttered unpleasant remarks and words against the former.

IMEG said the suspect is now under the Tuguegarao City Police Station’s custody for documentation.

It added that the operation is part of the police force’s campaign against wanted active and former officers or officials.

An ex-cop has been nabbed for slander. 

https://palawan-news.com/nea-dismisses-paleco-board-director-suspends-another-following-audit-of-past-irregularities/

The National Electrification Administration has removed one member from the current board of directors of Palawan Electric Cooperative and imposed a 90-day suspension on another following an audit on the cooperative that covered its actions from as early as 2004 to mid-2017, including irregularities in the procurement of wood utility poles and entering into contracts for sitio and barangay electrification.

Palawan News sources said the administration committee of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), based on a decision released almost seven years later, has removed Moises Arzaga Jr. from his role as the District II board of directors (BOD), while Maylene Ballares, the BOD for District I, has been suspended for a three-month period.

According to the source, every board of directors who served from 2004 to 2017, during the time of Jo Tan Paredes as chairman and Ponciano Payuyo as Paleco general manager, were discovered to have committed infractions. However, Arzaga and Ballares are the only ones who remain in their positions, having won in recent district elections.

"They are the only ones with a penalty now because they are still serving, but the others already have a record, they already have a decision. Others cannot be dismissed because they are no longer there. But if they are still there, they will be dismissed," the source claimed.

"This is the questionable purchase of the wood pole. He is a millionaire and the bidding is questionable," added the source.

Arzaga and Ballares, the source further claimed, are among those being investigated in the ongoing inquiry regarding discrepancies uncovered during the second audit, which covers the timeframe from June 2017 to April 2022.

Additionally, approximately 20 Paleco employees have been issued summonses by the NEA to provide explanations concerning issues connected to this matter.

"This ongoing investigation in the second audit is about many things. All transactions of the coop are audited—bidding, hiring, everything that is done. Institutional like the Commission on Audit,” explained the source.

The NEA ruling regarding Arzaga and Ballares for the period spanning from 2004 to the middle of 2017 is described as "immediately executory subject to appeal."

The NEA has dismissed a board director of PALECO and suspended another for irregularities in the procurement process.