A former budget official is willing to face a Senate inquiry following questions raised about government's procurement of certain medical supplies when the pandemic hit last year.
Former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao said he was prepared to shed light on the issues as he dispelled any irregularity in the purchase of face masks and shields.
Senators earlier questioned the alleged overpriced face masks and face shields bought by the Department of Health (DOH) through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) last year. The health department reportedly transferred P42 billion for the purchase of personal protective equipment, including face masks that cost P27 each and face shields at P122 per piece in early 2020.
Lao was the former head of the procurement arm of the DBM.
"It’s my responsibility and I am willing to attend to shed light on the matter. I believe the objectivity of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Senator (Richard) Gordon that it is fair and just and it is a proper and appropriate avenue for me to shed light on what actually transpired," Lao said over government television Friday, August 20.
"So it is actually a good thing ‘di ba kasi people make assumptions without all the facts. It is best that all facts are laid and the best, one of the appropriate avenues is the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee," he added.
Lao explained some suppliers tried to sell face masks and shields at high cost but PS-DBM still chose the "cheapest" among the items offered last year.
"Of course, if you consider that P27 during that time, this time that’s so expensive, even I would not buy that ‘di ba. Face shield during this time is P120 that would really be very expensive. But during that time, when kasagsagan ng pandemya (height of the pandemic), everybody was scampering. We were all scampering," he said.
"Actually, when you look at it, kapag sinabi mong mahal iyong P27, yes mahal iyan (if you say P27 is expensive, yes it is) but during that time that was one of the cheapest because face mask during that time cost at around P30 to P40," he said.
Lao also justified the purchase of face shield for P120 a piece, saying it was also the least expensive found last year.
"Ang face shield during that time it was the first time the people knew about face shield. It was my first time to know about face shield," he said. "So, when you bid at it most of the bidders bid at it around P400 and 300 but there’s one company who bid it at P120 so that’s actually the cheapest during that time," he said.
Lao also made clear that a memorandum of agreement for the transfer of funds from DOH to DBM's procurement service was no longer necessary since the items were marked as common use or needed in the operations of the agency.
He noted the health department needed assistance so it passed on to PS-DBM to procure such items.
"Most agencies do not have a regular procurement process. They don’t really procure items as part of their regular performance or their function. Like DOH, their main function is to provide health and services," he said.
"But in the course of providing these services, they need to provide supplies. And to procure these items needs specialization, needs manpower, needs time, needs effort. So in order to not dilute the manpower and resources and time of these agencies, a different agency is focused and performs function for them. So iyon iyong PS-DBM," he added.