DPWH-ARMM saves P.5 M in equipment deal

MANILA, Philippines - What used to be tagged as the second most corrupt agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has saved P500,000 in the procurement of equipment through a bidding process.

The ARMM’s Public Works and Highways department had earlier saved P136 million from its 2012 maintenance and operating expenses (MOE) and unspent infrastructure grants, as a result of the administration’s stringent handling of the agency’s treasury.

Gov. Mujiv Hataman, Regional Public Works Secretary Emil Sadain, and  Vicente Melvin Cabatbat of the D’ Limitless Vehicle Venture signed here Friday a contract for the procurement of P24.2 million worth of heavy equipment aimed to hasten infrastructure projects in the five provinces of the region.

The DPWH-ARMM was touted in the past as the second most corrupt agency in the region, next to the education department, whose incumbent secretary, Jamar Kulayan, had also saved in the past 18 months P800 million from the agency’s MOE and unspent money intended for salaries of teachers and rank-and-file personnel.

The education department’s P800 million savings were accumulated gradually as Hataman and Kulayan removed the “ghost teachers” from its payrolls and stopped the releases of MOE to non-existent schools.

The DPWH-ARMM’s heavy equipment supply contract had cut by P500,000 the cost of the equipment to be purchased, owing to the suppliers' low bid.

Hataman and Sadain had also awarded a P2.5 million worth contract for the ARMM’s expanded road mapping project to another lowest bidder, the Woodfields Consultants, Inc.