LOOK: CNN Philippines tries to find the construction company in Pasay City where OWWA allegedly bought the close to ₱1M hygiene kits, sanitary napkins and thermal scanners as indicated in the COA report.
COA also said that it could not locate the store | @TristanNodalo pic.twitter.com/XXNpVHsfJu
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) August 18, 2021
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) — State auditors have asked officials from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to justify why it purchased overpriced hygiene products from a construction and trading company that cannot be located.
The Labor Department meanwhile ordered an investigation on the agency’s supposed purchase of the overpriced hygiene products.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said he has required the concerned OWWA personnel to answer the audit report immediately.
The Commission on Audit 2020 report said OWWA purchased hygiene kits and sanitary napkins worth ₱822,420 from MRCJP Construction and Trading in Pasay City.
“The propriety and regularity of the expenditure charged to the CA of a Deputy Administrator is doubtful due to the awarding of the procurement transactions not to reputable drugstores and supermarkets,” it said. “This is an indication what OWWA’s resources were not expended in accordance with rules and regulations.”
CNN Philippines’ Tristan Nodalo contributed to this report.
The hygiene kits, which were not itemized, were priced at ₱160, while a piece of sanitary pad had a price tag of up to ₱35.
OWWA responds
“The procured sanitary napkins per pad is very costly. The napkins can be bought in small sari-sari stores at ₱5-₱8 per pad only,” the report read.
OWWA chief Hans Cacdac on Wednesday noted that the COA finding is “by no means final.” This comes a day after President Rodrigo Duterte told officials to ignore the annual reports published by the auditors.
State auditors added, “It is unlikely that these items were bought from a store which deals with construction supplies or hardware, considering that the Mercury Drugstore is just around the vicinity of OWWA.”
The agency also bought 50 pieces of thermal scanners from the same supplier worth ₱2,950 per unit. But COA flagged that price online only ranged from ₱400 to ₱800.
Cacdac said Deputy Administrator Faustino Sabarez III, who headed ground operations during ECQ in 2020 when the doubtful purchases were made, is being given a chance to explain and liquidate his cash advance. He added Sabarez will also explain to COA why the company cannot be found in the stated address.
The COA report also raised questions on why OWWA bought bottled waters and local snacks worth ₱300,000 from a catering business in Quezon City when there are big supermarkets near the agency’s central office in Pasay City.
The hygiene products and thermal scanners bought from MRCJP Construction and Trading amounted to ₱969,920. The COA report said the establishment “cannot be found on the address stated” in the receipt after its audit team checked out the area.
He also cleared the name of OWWA Administrator Mocha Uson even if she was not singled out in the COA report.
CNN Philippines also visited the area on Wednesday that was indicated in the report. Residents said it is a residential area and there has been no construction firm there. CNN Philippines is trying to contact the construction firm for its comment.
The transactions with the hardware store and catering business, described by the auditors as “doubtful,” totaled ₱1,269,920.
