By: Gerome Dalipe
STATE auditors asked the local chief executive of Iloilo province to review the present structure of the Capitol’s bids and awards committee (BAC), including its secretariat and Technical Working Group (TWG).
This after the Commission on Audit (COA), in its annual report on the Capitol, discovered questionable purchase of medicines for various district hospitals worth P24.60-million in 2018.
The review of the BAC structure is so the members “can efficiently carry out the procurement of drugs and medicines,” the auditors said.
They need to “formulate strategies to address the insufficiency of drugs and medicines and the lengthy procurement period in the provincial hospitals, the auditors said.
In their annual audit, the auditors said the Provincial Capitol awarded various purchase orders to suppliers without validating the availability of these drugs and medicines.
The Capitol should have verified the capacity of the prospective suppliers to deliver on time and to submit the required documents, the auditors pointed out.
But such medicine purchase was materialized without violating the provisions of Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The above law provides for transparency in the procurement process and in the implementation of procurement contracts.
The transaction also cast doubt on the integrity of the procurement process and delayed the provision of needed drugs and medicines of the provincial district hospitals.
The Capitol-run hospitals were reportedly forced to purchase medicines using its petty cash fund amounting to P24.60-million.
The Hospital Management Office agreed for an extension of the winning bidder despite the insufficiency of the requested medicines in the district hospitals which added burden to the hospital operations.
“The non-monitoring of procurement timeline, re-bidding, extension granted and delayed execution of purchase order or contract with the suppliers resulted in the shortage of medicines in the provincial hospitals,” read the COA report.
The purchase of medicines using petty cash fund was contrary to the provisions of COA Circular 2012-001, the auditors said.
It is also considered as an “indirect circumvention” of Republic Act 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act), which requires competitive bidding as the mode of procurement unless circumstances warrant the use of an alternative method.
The auditors said they understood the district hospitals’ mandate to provide for the needed medicines that forced the use of the petty cash fund.
“But the same should not be continued and tolerated, hence needing immediate attention and solution,” the auditors said.
Likewise, the BAC should formulate policies and procedures in the monitoring, conduct of post-qualification, the auditors said.
They should take actions on the consistent delays of suppliers to a timely award of contract and delivery of the needed medicines.
The governor should direct the BAC to stop its practice of terminating procurement activities that exceeded the 90-day period without justifiable cause, the auditors added.