Quezon City legal officer Atty. Nino Casimiro insisted on Saturday, March 19, that the Covid-19 pandemic “ayuda” packs bought by the local government were not overpriced.

Casimiro issued his statement after learning that Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor showed a document that served as proof that there was an anomaly in the relief’s procurement.

Defensor, who is also running for mayor in the upcoming elections, showed on Friday, March 15, a purchase order (PO) document from the local government dated Oct. 25, 2021 that indicates the prices of items in the relief packs distributed to the citizens.

The lawmaker highlighted in the document the unit price of a 50-kilogram sack of rice that costs P5,000, which he believed is questionable.

In a press conference on Saturday, Casimiro said that the mode of procurement for the relief packs was done through a public bidding (also indicated in the document), which means the city chose a winning bidder (supplier) who presented the lowest total amount to buy the required items.

Casimiro explained that if a project undergoes a public bidding, an “Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)” is set to limit the total amount of purchase for the project the bidders can present. It also makes sure that the total is always reasonable, fair, lawful, and not overpriced.

“What he failed to tell everyone is that the numbers na nakaimprenta dito ay hindi po galing sa city government no (What he failed to tell everyone is that the numbers printed here is not from the local government),” Casimiro said, clarifying that the data is from the winning bidder.

He also clarified that the unit cost for each item in the PO depends on the winning bidder and will be accepted as long as the total is still within the approved budget.

“The cost of the individual items are therefore irrelevant, as it is only the final, total price of the entire contract that should be considered. In this case, the winning bidder submitted the lowest aggregate cost, well below the Approved Budget for Contract, or ABC," Casimiro explained.

The lawyer confirmed that the total amount in the document is P9,729,500 and did not exceed the P9,736.602.50 ABC.

Meanwhile, Ms. Margie Santos, QC Bids and Awards Committee on Goods and Services head, explained that the suppliers have their own strategies on pricing which the city cannot interfere with.

“What's important is that the city paid the lowest price, equal to or below the ABC, and got the requirement we needed," Santos said.