By Nikolai Ordoña 

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for not complying with procurement laws in procuring equipment for its satellite offices.

Based on the 2022 audit report released on Monday, July 3, the OVP resorted to the purchase of items using the cash of its officers subject to reimbursement, which does not adhere to the procedures mandated by the Government Procurement Reform Act that is intended to standardize and improve transparency in the procurement.

“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 PHP 668,197.20,” state auditors stated.

The satellite offices, intended to provide more accessible assistance to individuals, were opened nationwide on July 1, 2022, immediately after Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s inauguration. 

For its part, the OVP said that they ensured the quality and low price of the items procured. Nevertheless, they vowed to follow the auditors’ recommendations and proper guidelines when processing future transactions.

Discounts and donations

The COA also reported that the OVP failed to take advantage of discounts for senior citizens and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs). 

They found that 471 out of 1,083 office clients could not avail of discounts to purchase medicine, citing various reasons, including the failure of clients to bring their identification cards.

The OVP had said that they would post reminders on their website as well as make amendments to the medical and burial assistance program guidelines for availing of discounts.

The audit report also revealed that the OVP lacked guidelines and processes on in-kind donations because of delayed reports and non-posting of these on their website, contrary to COA guidelines.

“Rest assured that we remain committed in ensuring the prudent use of donations made to the office for proper transparency to our partner donors and accurate presentation of donations received by the office,” the OVP told the audit team.

Confidential funds and expenses

The OVP did not have an appropriation of intelligence or confidential funds following the General Appropriations Act of 2022.

However, the 2022 audit report showed that the office under VP Duterte spent PHP 125 million worth of confidential expenses, compared to zero funds in 2021 under former VP Leni Robredo.

The office also spent PHP 483,600 in “extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses”, which had an appropriation of PHP 620,000 in 2022.

Some of the assistance provided by the OVP decreased, while educational and livelihood assistance increased, as seen in the table below:

EXPENSES	2022(Under VP Duterte)	2021(Under former VP Robredo)
Confidential expenses	PHP 125 million	0
Assistance to Local Government Units (LGUs) & Non-government organizations (NGOs)	PHP 378.82 million	PHP 526.713 million
Medical & burial assistance	PHP 304.67 million	PHP 327.267 million
Transferred funds to hospitals	PHP 30.537 million	PHP 167.245 million
Educational assistance	PHP 936,121	PHP 35,000
Sustainable livelihood and training subsidy	PHP 20.138 million	PHP 7.431 million

Thumbnail from The Philippine Daily Inquirer