Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 19) — The Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) has yet to carry out proceedings for the blacklisting of the supplier of laptops for public school teachers found to be overpriced and outdated, state auditors said.
In its 2022 report uploaded on its website on July 19, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the DBM’s procurement arm failed to implement recommendations from the previous year’s audit.
The PS-DBM management claimed that it submitted a resolution on the termination and blacklisting to the head of the procuring entity for final approval. Upon validation, however, the commission said this has not been done.
In its 2021 audit report, COA flagged the Department of Education over the purchase of pricey laptops with low-end processors supposedly for the implementation of distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The ₱2.4-billion procurement contract was coursed through the PS-DBM.
According to COA, the PS-DBM favored the joint venture of suppliers Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, LDLA Marketing and Trading Inc., and VST ECS Philippines Inc. over other bidders even though the group failed to meet technical specifications for the purchase.
The findings prompted the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to conduct a probe into the matter last year.
Non-refund of ₱1.2B
Meanwhile, auditors also flagged the PS-DBM for failing to return to client agencies or the Bureau of Treasury its unutilized funds from 2022 amounting to ₱1.242 billion.
Records show client-agencies that have yet to get refunds from the PS-DBM include the Philippine Sports Commission (₱979,539), the National Bureau of Investigation (₱48.4 million), and DepEd-Main (₱808.1 million). This has deprived the government of the use of the funds for the implementation of its programs, COA said.
