The Commission on Audit has called out the Bureau of Corrections over the delayed procurement of P104 million worth of medicines and medical supplies intended for its five prison facilities.

In their 2022 report, state auditors discovered that BuCor incurred 85 to 201 days of delay due to poor procurement planning, defeating the intended purpose of the emergency procurement, which BuCor resorted to as a mode of acquisition.

Among the purchased items were drugs and medicines for Covid-19, medical, dental, and laboratory supplies, and basic needs (hygiene kit) amounting to P86,043,847.68, P4,755,038.00, and P12,836,456.70, respectively, intended for persons deprived of liberty in five operating prison and penal farms, or OPPFs.

Audit findings revealed that the items were delivered to the end-users only from 21 October 2022 to 9 January 2023, resulting in unmaximized utilization.

Slow-moving items

The slow acquisition of the items, CoA pointed out, ran counter to Section 2 of Presidential Decree 1445, which declares that all government resources shall be managed, expended, or utilized in accordance with laws and regulations and safeguarded against loss or wastage through illegal or improper disposition.

Based on the CoA report, BuCor initially resorted to public bidding as a mode of procurement for the medical items.

However, its supplemental Annual Procurement Plan revealed that it changed to negotiated procurement approved by the Head of the Procuring Entity of each OPPF.

The negotiated procurement under emergency cases is valid under the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9184.

However, considering the 85 to 201-day delay from purchase request to the delivery of the goods to end users, BuCor defeated the purpose of the emergency procurement, which is meant to provide urgent and immediate relief in times of emergency.