4 solons seek inquiry into purchase of P403M grocery packs in QC
FOUR members of Congress have called for an inquiry into the alleged anomalous procurement by the Quezon City government of 350,000 grocery packs worth a total of P403 million that were later found to be overpriced by a whopping 44 percent, or by P179 million.
In House Resolution No. 2184, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor and Quezon City Reps. Anthony Peter Crisologo, Precious Hipolito-Castelo and Allan Reyes urged the appropriate congressional committee to investigate the purchase of alleged overpriced grocery bundles meant as “ayuda” or relief goods for families reeling from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The groceries were acquired at a price of P1,149.98 per pack. However, upon inspection of the items, these could have been easily bought off the shelf from any supermarket at a total cost of no more than P636 per pack,” said the House members.
“The groceries were overpriced by P513.98 per pack, or by 44 percent, which is outrageous,” they alleged.
The local government obtained the grocery packs via a negotiated contract with a sole proprietorship business, rather than through an open and competitive public bidding involving direct suppliers, the lawmakers pointed out.
The procurement was made through Purchase Order No. 2012134, for P402,493,000 worth of groceries.
“Had the groceries been bought straight from any supermarket at P636 per bundle, the local government could have procured a total of 632,850 packs for the benefit of an equal number of families,” the lawmakers said. “However, because the packs were overpriced at P1,149.98 each, only 350,000 families benefitted from the relief operation,” they said.
In calling for the inquiry, the lawmakers invoked Section 4 of Republic Act (RA) No. 6713, which provides that: “Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.”
RA 6713 is also known as The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
