‘Overpriced’ Christmas gifts in Pasay explained

A high agency cost estimate (ACE) was blamed for the overpriced grocery items in the 70,000 Christmas packages distributed by the Pasay City government to city employees and poor residents last Christmas.

A city official, who requested anonymity, said the Budget Office (BO) and General Services Office (GSO) had pegged a high ACE for the grocery items, resulting in the astronomical prices.

The source said the BO and GSO should be made to explain the high ACE of the grocery items.

The city government spent P30 million for the 70,000 bags of canned goods containing corned beef, tuna and fruit cocktail; a two-kilo bag of rice; and a one-kilo bag of white sugar.

Documents obtained by The STAR showed that the 70,000 plastic bags alone bearing the name of Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad and then President Joseph Estrada, which contained the groceries, cost P18 each.

The rice cost P48, the sugar P25, a can of Vienna sausage P33.55, a can of Blue Bay tuna P46.83, a 250 gram can of Sunkist juice P35.53, a 25 gram packet of Blend 45 coffee P73.81, a can of Swift corned beef P35.31, a 565 gram can of Los Primos fruit cocktail P62.05, a 300 milliliter can of Blue Cow condensed milk P42.02, a 375 gram of Swift luncheon meat P69.30, a 365 gram can of Del Monte spaghetti meat sauce P67.43, and a one-kilo can of Fiesta spaghetti sauce P53.13.

The STAR tried but failed to get the ACE price list for the Christmas package from Budget Office chief Rita Cayanan and her comments on the issue.

For his part, Trinidad maintained that there was noting irregular about the procurement of the groceries for the Christmas packages.

The mayor explained that in his review of the transaction, the supplier who bagged the contract to supply the grocery items, identified as Kirov’s Enterprises of Quezon City, had a profit margin of 15 to 20 percent.

"The profit margin is reasonable. I think it is just fair that the company earns a profit over the transaction," Trinidad said.

The mayor pointed out that the transaction also underwent public bidding.