MANILA, Philippines – State auditors said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte failed to fully comply with procurement rules when it immediately opened satellite offices across the country.

Based on the 2022 annual audit report published by the Commission on Audit on Monday, July 3, the OVP resorted to quick purchases of items using the cash of its officers subject to reimbursement, which is not standard practice.

“Our audit disclosed that OVP failed to fully observe the processes and procedures required under Republic Act No. 9184 and its implementing rules and regulations in the purchase of its plant, property, and equipment (PPE) and semi-expendable equipment in satellite offices amounting to P668,197.20,” the report read.

PPE refers to land, building, and machinery and equipment, among others; semi-expendable equipment property refers to tangible items that meet the criteria of PPE but cost below P50,000.

Duterte launched satellite offices across the country on July 1, 2022, right after she was inaugurated as vice president.

These include cities of Dagupan, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Davao, and Tandag in Surigao del Sur.

“These satellite offices were opened to assist individuals to access help, and for swifter response in times of disasters, Duterte’s spokesperson Reynold Munsayac had said back then.

But state auditors said the OVP’s non-compliance with “standard and streamlined processes in handling and reporting of acquired PPE resulted in late reporting and recording of purchased property.”

COA recommended that the OVP stop procurement transactions that resort to reimbursements, and strictly adhere to the Government Procurement Reform Act.

In response, the OVP acknowledged that some purchases were done through reimbursement.

“Due to the time constraints imposed by RA 9184, the Procurement Unit was unable to process the requests at the time of the opening of the satellite offices on July 1, 2022. The Property Unit, on the other hand, does not have the necessary office equipment at the time of the opening,” the OVP said as stated in the report.

“Nonetheless, the satellite office staff exercised the necessary diligence to ensure that the items purchased are of the required quality and at the lowest price offered in the market. Moving forward, all transactions pertaining to procurement of PPE and semi-expendable property for satellite offices will be processed following the guidelines under RA 9184 accordingly,” it added.

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Reporting in-kind donations

COA also said the OVP lacked internal guidelines in handling, monitoring, and reporting in-kind donations.

State auditors said this resulted in a delay in the submission of a report on in-kind donations to the Office of the Civil Defense, in compliance with a 2014 COA circular.

“Non-compliance with the required deadline hampered the early detection of any flaw and opportunity of a timely audit that may serve as input in enhancing the agency’s processes,” the COA report read.

Even the OVP under Duterte’s predecessor Leni Robredo recorded a delay in the submission of an in-kind donations report (a 33-day delay for the first quarter of 2022, and four-day delay for the second-quarter), but the OVP under Duterte took a longer time to pass its papers (101-day delay for the third quarter, and 64-day delay for the fourth quarter).

In response, Duterte’s office apologized for the delay, saying its personnel are still in the process of familiarizing themselves with the procedures.

“Nevertheless, we will be more mindful of the date of submission reports,” the OVP promised.

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Confidential funds

According to the COA report, the OVP, from not having to spend a single centavo on confidential funds in 2021, spent P125 million under that category in 2022. Robredo was still vice president in the first half of 2022 so it is unclear if her office also used those funds.

In comparison, when Robredo concluded her first year as vice president in 2017, the COA report for the OVP in 2016 (the first half of which had Jejomar Binay as the incumbent vice president) indicated an expenditure of only P444,000 attributed to confidential, intelligence, and extraordinary expenses.

Meanwhile, the OVP’s expenses for financial assistance declined from P526.7 million in 2021 to P378.8 million in 2022. – Rappler.com