Social media claims that government-distributed family food packs cost P1,503 each are based on a misinterpretation of procurement documents, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Monday.

Gatchalian said the P1,503 figure circulating online represents the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), or the maximum amount bidders may offer, and not the actual price paid by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“Actually, fake news. This started from a post by someone. He said that one of our food packs allegedly costs ₱1,503,” Gatchalian said in a television interview.

“Because the value of the food packs is only ₱797.80,” he added in Filipino.

Gatchalian explained that the procurement underwent competitive bidding, with the ABC serving only as the ceiling for bids.

“The actual award price is only ₱797.80. There is no truth to the claim that ₱1,503 is the award price,” he said.

The DSWD said the ABC for each box of prepacked family food packs (FFPs) was P1,503.84.

During the bidding, 2 Go Global International Corporation submitted the lowest bid at P797.80 per box, according to the agency.

Another social media post questioned the cost after comparing the retail prices of individual products contained in the food packs.

The netizen calculated that four cans of tuna flakes cost P136, two cans of sardines P38, four cans of corned beef P120, five sachets of coffee P37.50, five sachets of chocomalt powder P40.50 and six kilograms of rice P288.

The computation placed the total retail value at P628.

“Are you still going to steal even the relief goods? You have such thick faces!” the netizen said in Filipino.

The DSWD reiterated that the P1,503.84 figure was not the amount paid for each food pack but the maximum allowable bid under the procurement.

The agency also said food items included in the relief boxes underwent quality control testing by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute to ensure compliance with safety and nutritional standards.

2.3M food packs distributed

The DSWD has distributed more than 2.3 million FFPs to families and individuals affected by recent tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon, or Habagat.

“Since this started, because it seems like this has been one continuous disaster, from the first habagat, then three typhoons, and now we are already at Pilandok, we have reached 2.3 million family food packs that we have released. That is one of the biggest releases of family food packs in our history because we are talking about almost four weeks, 2.3 million,” Gatchalian said.

Relief operations remain underway following flooding that affected several provinces in Central Luzon and parts of Metro Manila over the weekend.

The DSWD said it has 3,586,913 FFPs, 301,570 ready-to-eat food packs and 282,931 non-food items prepositioned in strategic locations nationwide.

The stockpiles are intended to augment resources of local government units responding to communities affected by tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay and Neneng, as well as recent flooding in Central Luzon and Metro Manila.

Gatchalian said LGUs serve as first responders in distributing assistance, while the DSWD augments their resources when requested.

“As far as we know, we have already complied with all the requests from the local government units. But as I said, there are some local government units that are already asking for a second or third round, and rightfully so, because this disaster has already lasted for quite a long time,” he said.