DepEd noodle project halted amid corruption claims

MANILA, Philippines - Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has ordered a review of the school feeding program and deferred the procurement of 20 million packs of noodles worth about P427 million.

In a letter sent to Sen. Mar Roxas, Senate education committee chairman, Lapus said the review will be done in coordination with independent experts to resolve questions as to nutritional contents, cost effectiveness and efficiency of field implementation.

“In view of the concerns raised in the committee on education regarding the department’s school feeding program, particularly the pending noodles fortified with malunggay and eggs, we wish to inform you that the procurement of the same has been deferred,” he said.

Lapus said he had issued the review instructions to Undersecretaries Ramon Bacani, Vilma Labrador and Thelma Santos.

“As this is of the essence, please act with utmost dispatch so that the school feeding in the 13 food poor provinces can be implemented during this school year as scheduled,” read Lapus’s memorandum.

Teodosio Sangila Jr, undersecretary for finance and administration and chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee, has been ordered to defer the execution of the contract for the noodles procurement from Jeverps Manufacturing Corp., Lapus said.

Jeverps had been supplying the instant noodles requirement of the DepEd’s school-feeding program for the past three years.

About P700-million in noodles have been distributed to schools nationwide.

In the past two hearings, the Senate education committee found out that P285 million was spent in 2007, another P61 million for a repeat order last year, while P427 million was spent for the same project this year.

There were six deals, including a repeat order, amounting to roughly P750 million, with only one bidder over five years, according to Roxas. – Christina Mendez