DND: Government procurement deals open to review

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) said the next president may review the deals it entered into with countries that are interested to help the Philippines modernize its armed forces.

Defense Undersecretary Antonio Romero II assured president-apparent Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III that the procurement of military equipment would be transparent and that all offers are being assessed carefully.

“We can assure that we are open... If they want to scrutinize everything and if they want to open it (deals) again, they can do so,” Romero said in an interview.

“They will see that these (transactions) are being done transparently... Whoever sits as president should not worry about these proposed deals because these are intended for the good of the country,” he added.

Romero said observers from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Makati Business Club were invited to oversee the procurement process.

He added that the Commission on Audit (COA) will review the deals.

“We have non-organic observers... They will provide the check and balance. Besides, all the transactions will be audited by COA to ensure that they are in order,” Romero said. 

“He (Aquino) can review them if he thinks there are anomalies. He can rescind them before they are implemented,” he said.

Before the May 10 polls, Aquino warned against the government’s “midnight deals” and called on foreign suppliers not to transact with the outgoing administration.

He cited the deals involving the modernization of the military, which he described as “graft-ridden” and “supplier-driven.”

Aquino vowed to scrutinize the contracts approved by the Arroyo administration and to rescind those tainted with anomalies.

“Every peso stolen from the budget of our security organizations represents a drop of blood of our soldiers, airmen, sailors and police officers who risk their lives in the service of our nation,” Aquino said.

Romero, however, said the proposed deals cannot be described as “midnight procurements.”

“We already received offers last year. As early as February, their (potential suppliers’) technical people came to show the technical specifications of their products... But our major services do not take the offers hook, line and sinker,” he said.

When asked if they can still sign contracts before June 30, Romero said, “We can if we rush the transactions. But there should be transparency. The products should be evaluated to ensure that they would comply with our technical specifications.”

The government is planning to buy an armor system for the Army, multi-role vessels for the Navy, and long-range patrol aircraft, medium lift aircraft and attack helicopters for the Air Force in the next two to three years. 

The DND has said that it is in talks with Canada, Italy, Israel and South Korea for the possible purchase of military equipment.

Previous reports said the DND, through a government-to-government contract, was able to strike a P3-billion deal with Israel for the purchase of more than a dozen reconditioned Cobra attack helicopters for the Philippine Air Force.

Peace in Mindanao

In a related development, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle Abaya said yesterday the next administration should continue getting in touch with the people to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao.

Abaya said the next peace adviser should know the stakeholders in the peace pact being pursued by the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA). – With Jose Rodel Clapano