Irregularities galore

No government agency has been spared from the contagion of corruption.

This is underscored by what’s going on at Philippine Coconut Authority, a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President whose responsibility is to “promote the rapid integrated development and growth of the coconut and palm oil industry…and ensure that the coconut farmers become direct participants in, and beneficiaries of, such development and growth.”

But the PCA appears to be deviating from its mandate to ensure the growth of the coconut industry. The Commission on Audit has discovered irregularities and violations of the procurement law in the way the PCA spent P688.718 million for Typhoon Yolanda relief operations and its anti-coconut scale insect project last year.

The PCA is said to have awarded contracts  to questionable suppliers using the emergency mode of procurement that gave “no assurance that the availed prices were most advantageous to the government.”

Among the questionable purchases were farm tractors, chainsaws, saw mills, choppers, mung bean and corn seeds and various fertilizers from different suppliers. 

The PCA’s expenses for Typhoon Yolanda recovery activities and its anti-coconut scale insect program obviously went against the relevant provisions of Republic Act 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Procurement of goods and services under RA 9184 are supposed to be competitive and transparent. But the documents supporting the awarding of contracts to the suppliers showed “documentary and procedural deficiencies, which is an indication that the bids and awards committee (BAC) and other officials concerned lacked sufficient awareness or knowledge in the procurement processes prescribed under RA 9184,” the COA report said.

Matuwid na daan? The PCA obviously needs to be indoctrinated on this principle which the Aquino administration has hammered on it since Day One. -end-