Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) — Senators on Tuesday said the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) purchase of a luxury vehicle, as flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA), will be an issue during deliberations on its 2024 budget.
“We will question during budget season,” Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said in a text message. The House of Representatives usually opens committee hearings on the annual budget by August, followed by marathon inquiries in the Senate.
Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the committee on finance, said all government officials should be aware of policies on the purchase of vehicles.
“Iyan ang trabaho ng mga abogado at legal officers nila,” he said.
[Translation: That is the job of their lawyers and legal officers.]
According to the COA, the PCG bought a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in 2022. It is considered a luxury vehicle all government agencies “are prohibited from acquiring and/or using” under Administrative Order No. 14.
The vehicle costs “₱4,999,000 (net of discount of P201,000)” the COA said in its report. An additional ₱2.8 million was spent for its bulletproofing.
The PCG said the vehicle was necessary “to ensure the safe and secure transportation of the Commandant and to uphold the PCG’s mandated functions.”
The COA noted, however, that the agency already has 459 service vehicles.Considering the total number of motor vehicles owned by the PCG, the necessity of acquiring new vehicles to utilize the rebates from Petron Corp. cannot be adequately established,” COA said in its report.
“We recommend and Management agreed to secure a post facto approval from the Secretary of Budget and Management on the acquisition of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado pursuant to AO No. 17 s. 2018 and submit the same to the Office of the Auditor,” added COA.
During Tuesday’s Kapihan sa Senado, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said it would be difficult to defend the purchase, adding that it will surely be tackled during the budget hearings.
“Iyong high-end mahirap i-justify iyan kahit na Commodore ka. Hindi maju-justify iyong high-end, kung proven na high-end,” he said.
“Iyan sigurado ako lalabas yan. In fact, if you look at the budget hearings, karamihan ng mga tanong tungkol sa COA report. Napakahalaga ang trabaho ng COA at ang Kongreso at Senado, sineseryoso ang report ICOA.”
[Translation: The high end will be difficult to justify even if you’re a Commodore. That can’t be justified, if it’s proven to be high end. I’m certain that will come out. In fact, if you look at the budget hearings, most of the questions are about the COA report. The COA’s job is very important and the House and the Senate take it very seriously.]
