Two House leaders oppose the proposal to abolish the Budget department’s Procurement Service (PS-DBM), flagged by their peers and the Commission on Audit (COA) for alleged questionable deals.
House Majority Leader Manix Dalipe and Appropriations vice chairperson Stella Quimbo contend PS-DBM should carry on with its original purpose of assisting agencies in efficiently using the funds provided by Congress:
“Every budget hearing, tinatanong ng Congress [ang mga agencies]: ‘Nagamit niyo ba ang pondo na in-allocate sa inyo?’ ‘Pag hindi, mapapagalitan ang secretary, undersecretary…kasi taxpayers’ money iyan; kailangan mo ma-utilize.”
“If there are problems…we should review PS-DBM’s processes, tweak it to be more transparent…” the Zambo lawmaker added.
Quimbo, who represents Marikina (2nd), agreed with Dalipe: “PS-DBM…[whose] expertise is really procurement…was created para ‘yung ibang agencies na walang capacity to do procurement in a swift manner, doon na niya ibibigay.”
She also argued the agency can exhaust technology, like live-streaming its processes for credibility and transparency.
Members of the Makabayan bloc had earlier filed for the abolition of the PS-DBM, claiming that the agency, allegedly, had been “a breeding ground for corruption, inefficiency and negligence in government”.
COA questioned PS-DBM’s due diligence in the government’s purchase of pricey yet outmoded laptops for teachers, and grilled in the delayed delivery of around P95-million health and medical supplies in the thick of the Covid pandemic.