The Commission on Audit has called out the local government of Davao City over P45.7 million worth of procured items intended for the families and individuals of the city government affected by the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In its 2022 report, CoA found that the purchase of grocery items totaling P45,720,660.57 was made through Negotiated Procurement (Emergency Cases).

State auditors found the city government directly negotiated with the suppliers through a representative from the City Social Welfare and Development Office without a written delegation of authority from the Head of Procuring Entity or HoPE, which runs counter to a provision of the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184.

The lapses in the propriety and validity of the procurement transactions compelled CoA to cast doubt.

Based on the audit, the CSWDO requested an alternative mode of procurement to purchase the Covid relief items from the Bids and Awards Committee, which the latter recommended to the HoPE be approved.

The mode endorsed was the Negotiated Procurement (Emergency Cases).

CoA flagged the transaction since it pushed through without first securing authority from the HoPE to delegate such procurement to the end user.

“Personnel from the CSWDO and BAC, who were interviewed separately, both claimed that the authority to directly negotiate with the supplier was already granted through the resolutions issued by the BAC, recommending the approval of the negotiated procurement, as approved by the HoPE,” the CoA said.

However, it stressed that the resolutions could not be construed that these carry with the delegated authority by the HoPE for the end-user to directly negotiate with the supplier because no such delegation statements were mentioned.

CoA further pointed out that the manual of procedures for the procurement of goods clearly states that upon preparation of the appropriate procurement documents, the BAC, unless authority is delegated to the end-user, directly negotiates with a supplier with the technical, legal and financial capability to deliver the goods.