Construction of police facilities aboveboard, says PNP

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has maintained that all its transactions on the construction of police facilities and buildings are aboveboard, contrary to reports of alleged overpricing from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“The PNP maintains a policy of ensuring that all transactions it enters into are not only transparent but also advantageous to the government,” PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said yesterday, adding that any excess funds are returned to the Department of Budget and Management.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo has ordered the PNP to reduce the construction cost of police stations by 10 percent after receiving reports that it has been allocating excessive amounts for these projects in the countryside.

Robredo said the PNP has been allotting P5.135 million for the construction of a modest police station, described as type B or C in some rural towns, when it could be built for only P3.5 million. 

Cruz said the PNP Engineering Service explained that the contract cost for the construction of a standard-designed municipal police station varies depending on the location.

Based on the PNP’s experience in cons-tructing municipal police stations, the cost in island provinces and urban centers is always higher than in rural areas where concrete aggregates and other materials are available for free.

“Thus, the P5.1-million cost of a standard municipal police station is the average cost derived from a comparison of actual costs in the different locations for the similar project,” Cruz said.

“It must be emphasized that if the actual contract cost will be much lower than the programmed cost, the difference is reverted to the treasury as a matter of accounting and auditing procedure. Thus, savings are actually derived under such situations,” he said.