President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday night stood pat that the COVID-19 supplies procured by the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) were not overpriced.
In his second weekly public address this week, Duterte defended the government’s purchase of personal protective equipment, face shield and face mask which lawmakers have questioned for supposedly being overpriced.
“Were the purchases of masks overpriced, ‘yon ang tanong. Ang sagot is no, they are not. DBM PS procured the surgical masks below the DOH, DTI suggested retail prices during that time. Mas mababa sa suggested prices ng DOH pati DTI,” he said.
“And whether there’s a high demand for the same, it is not accurate to compare the purchase price of surgical masks at the height of COVID-19 and during the period when the supply of surgical masks began to stabilize,” Duterte added.
He said the government had to look for gadgets, personal protective equipment and masks wherever they can because there was no supply during the height of the health crisis.
“Mahal talaga kasi walang supply so agawan… ‘Pag maraming supply, mura, ‘pag walang supply, mahal kasi agawan,” Duterte said.
He then said that the PPEs bought under the Aquino administration were more expensive than what his administration procured.
“The Aquino government bought PPEs at P3,500, way more expensive than what you bought,” he said.
Malacañang had also denied that the Duterte administration bought overpriced PPE worth P1,700 each amid the pandemic.
The Senate blue ribbon committee is probing the Department of Health’s transfer of P42 billion funds to the PS-DBM for the procurement of face masks and face shields at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The PS-DBM and its former chief, resigned Budget Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao, are currently in hot water due to purchase of PPEs that was also flagged by state auditors.
The lawmakers gave special attention to the transactions entered into by the PS-DBM with Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a small firm that only had a paid-up capital of around P625,000 but secured over P8 billion worth of government contracts for the procurement of PPEs.
Senators were also seeking information on the possible links of Chinese businessman Michael Yang, Duterte’s former economic adviser, to Pharmally.—LDF, GMA News
Duterte: No overpricing in COVID-19 supplies purchased by PS-DBM
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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