Your favorite razor
How much does your favorite razor cost? I would guess not more than a hundred pesos. Disposable razors cost no more than P20, if I'm not mistaken. If you want a razor with disposable blades, then perhaps a bit more expensive. What if I told you about razors that cost more than a thousand pesos? I'm sure you would want to see that. What would you say if I told you they were to be used by students in some technical vocational hairdressing course?
This is the issue hounding officials of the DepEd Northern Mindanao. A Davao-based company delivered 13 razors at a total cost of P24,414. You do the math. I don't know if the supplier made a mistake on the total amount, or the number of razors supposed to be delivered. But if all is good, then a razor will cost well over a thousand pesos, only to be used as training equipment by students, no offense to the students, of course. Apparently if you buy the same item from a mall, it only costs P200.
According to Allan Farnazo, DepEd regional director, there was no irregularity in the bidding process of the razors. The Northern Mindanao office also claims they were limited to a list provided by the Manila DepEd office. They only handled the bidding. Do I detect some washing of hands on the issue? If they handled the bidding, were they not surprised by the price of the razors, if the same item only cost a couple of hundred pesos each? Does it mean there were bidders with higher bids, more expensive razors? Are those prices common in Mindanao for them not to question?
The DepEd in Manila, in Mindanao, the supplier or winning bidder, they all have explaining to do. The COA must also come in, if needed. According to Farnazo, the supplier has not yet been paid. If an inspection shows that the items are according to the specifications set by the DepEd in Manila, then I assume the supplier from Davao will be paid. So if the shavers do shave, then all is well. Which means, the price is not the issue. It never was, perhaps until now. It makes me wonder if there are other equipment the DedEd uses that underwent the same process. I wonder how much scissors, erasers, chalk, tape dispensers, glue, paper, and pens cost once specifications are provided to purchase them?
This also brings to light all government procurement processes. Are specifications paramount over price? Is this the norm for all procurements, until the COA finds out? And if the COA doesn't find out, which is unlikely in a case like this, then is everybody happy? Something to think about. If they can do it with razors, what more to infrastructure in this time of build, build, build?
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