Guevarra to look into COA report flagging delay of medicines procurement for BuCor inmates
MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra will look into the report of the Commission on Audit on the Bureau of Corrections that flagged the delay in procurement of medicines for convicts in 2019.
Guevarra on Tuesday said he will look into the matter and wait for the BuCor’s explanation.
But the DOJ chief stressed: “In a congested prison where the risk of getting sick is very high, medicine is next only to food in terms of essentiality. Any delay in its procurement and delivery should immediately be addressed.”
BuCor is a line bureau under the Department of Justice. DOJ exercises administrative supervision over BuCor but has no control over the bureau.
COA report flags delay in medicine and drugs procurement
The 2019 audit report of COA showed that long processes in procurement of New Bilibid Prison Hospital (NBPH), Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) and Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) deprived Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) housed at their facilities of their much-needed drugs and medicines.
State auditors found that seven procurement projects worth P65.5 million were awarded incurred a delay of 71 to 75 days, beyond the allowable period of action.
There were also 14 projects worth P56.56 million with declared winning proponents or bidders but no Notices to Proceed (NTP) were issued, recording a delay of 119 days.
“The following projects with [Notices of Award] and NTP were delivered only in January 2020; thus the needed drugs and medicines of PDLs in CY 2019 were not provided,” the COA report read.
The Commission stressed that medical care of PDLs form part of BuCor’s mandate.
“However, the delayed procurement of drugs and medicines may strip the PDLs of their much needed drugs and medicines may strip the PDLs of their much needed drugs and medicines and may expose them to the risk of not being cured of their ailments and worst, may cause their death,” it said.
NBP hospital chief Henry Fabro said in November 2019 that one inmate is dying every day. He attributed this to the prison’s poorly equipped hospital and low number of medical professionals.
COA also warned that delay in procurement process contravenes the objectives of Republic Act 8194 or the Government Procurement Reform Act on efficiency of government procurement.
‘GCTA fiasco’
According to COA, BuCor management pinned the blame on the Good Conduct and Time Allowance controversy that swept up the bureau and the DOJ late last year.
“Due priority and consideration of the projects on the delivery of medicines to PDLs were not realized due to GCTA fiasco which turned out as a national issue,” the COA report quoting BuCor read.
In September 2019, controversy broke out following reports that convicted murderer and rapist Antonio Sanchez was due for an early release following GCTA, the law that awards time allowances for inmates’ good behavior.
A Senate legislative inquiry was also launched.
A separate investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman into the same controversy resulted in the issuance of six-month preventive suspension of 27 BuCor officials, including its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman.
BAC members were also transferred to other colonies for their new assignment, BuCor said.
“The new BAC initiated the conduct of activities for unfinished bidding process; hence, projects on bidding for PDL medicines were delivered to the advantage of the government but not on items which funds become unobligated due to afore-mentioned circumstances,” it said.
BuCor has since saw a change in its leadership, with Director General Gerald Bantag taking helm in September 2019. DOJ also revised the Implementing Rules and Regulation of the GCTA law and explicitly excluded heinous crimes convicts from availing of benefits from the law.
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