Vice President and Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), Sara Duterte (PRIB Senate file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — ACT Teachers party list representative France Castro intends to question the Office of the Vice President (OVP) about audit observations that showed its failure to comply with procurement laws to establish satellite offices (SO ).
On Tuesday, Castro plans to question the OVP on the audit results that show its lack of full compliance with procurement laws in the development of satellite offices (SOs).
COA reviewed OVP’s 2022 financial transactions and found that reimbursement of OVP officers did not align with the transparency goals of the procurement law.
“We are deeply concerned about the OVP’s alleged shortcuts in the hiring processes. This is an issue that should not be taken lightly, especially considering that millions, even billions, of taxpayer money are at stake,” Castro said in a statement.
“We will not let this happen without proper investigation and accountability. It is our duty to ensure that public funds are spent in a transparent and responsible manner,” he added.
COA had said that OVP provided a quote to demonstrate that the lowest possible price was acquired during the bidding.
However, the commission held that the omission of steps in the procurement law by OVP officials meant that the intent of the legislation was not achieved.
In response, OVP admitted that it took this route due to time constraints.
He also emphasized to the COA that the SO personnel exercised due diligence in the search for the PPE and semi-expandable equipment.
INQUIRER.net has sought the OVP’s side of the issue and has yet to respond at the time of publication.
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