COA: Purchase was "illegal"

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Audit in Cebu City questioned the use of emergency purchase as a mode of procurement of P2.5 million worth of supplies and materials for dengue prevention last year.

The type of procurement used was apparently inappropriate because the Cebu City Health Department was not able to make the purchase and use the supplies during the time it was direly needed.

The supplies are being consumed only now because they were delivered only last December when the number of dengue cases had already dropped.

Dr. Stella Ygoña, head of the CHD, in her letter to State Auditor Eva Cabrera explained said that the P2.5-million budget came from the Calamity Fund last year which was authorized by the City Council in a resolution passed in April.

The resolution authorized the charging of P2.5 million against the Calamity Funds for the purchase of chemicals and supplies in the preparation for the possible upsurge of dengue fever cases.

During the time, the city was also placed under the state of disaster preparedness.

Ygoña said that upon the approval of the resolution, the Administrative Unit of the CHD immediately prepared the purchase order.

But she said despite the fact that they used emergency procurement, it still had to undergo a long process.

When July came and the number of dengue cases has escalated to an alarming level, the CHD ran out of supplies particularly those for mist spraying, curtain impregnation and larvicidal activities.

The supply has reached the Authorized Stock Level of 25 percent of the annual procurement program which the disaster council learned and tried to resolve.

By September last year, she said two barangays were already declared under an outbreak level while five other barangays were considered as hot spots.

Ygoña said that since the number has reached an alarming level and the procurement in the government takes too long to process, they decided to tap private sectors to be their partners in dengue prevention in the 25 barangays with the most number of dengue cases.

The CHD also knocked on the doors of the Department of Health for supplies of chemicals for curtain impregnation.

“By this time, supplies and chemicals were way below the ASL. So we have continued the procurement as an emergency purchase in preparation if the cases will not be decreased after the intensive responses the department is making,” she said.

The P2.5 million supplies only arrived December last year when the number of cases already dropped.

Since the supplies were delivered only in December, they were able to start utilizing it last January and until the present.

“I sincerely regretted the procurement was done in an emergency mode, I was apprehensive considering the very risky situation due to a marked increase in Dengue Fever cases that it might eventually lead to unnecessary deaths,” Ygoña said.

Ygoña said that by January, they still had supplies left from the donations of private sectors and the DOH so they were not able to immediately touch the supplies that were purchased using the government’s money. —/BRP (FREEMAN)