Remulla says no kickbacks in Unified 911 procurement

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Thursday that the acquisition of equipment for the Unified 911 emergency response system was being carried out transparently and without kickbacks.

Remulla said the procurement underwent competitive bidding and that acquisition costs were benchmarked against prevailing market prices.

“Madalas, sa laki ng pera sa gobyerno ay pinag-iinteresan na ’yan. Pero tingnan n’yo ang record ng PNP, BFP, at DILG. Ngayon, itong mga motor ninyo, tingnan ninyo ang bid price n’yan at tingnan n’yo ’yung winning price, at tingnan n’yo sa market price,” he said.

“Kasama lahat ng kagamitan, wala kayong makikita ni piso na pumunta sa bulsa ng sinumang pumirma sa mga kontrata niyan,” Remulla added.

He said the Department of the Interior and Local Government has been pushing tighter transparency and accountability measures across its attached agencies.

Remulla also cited the government-to-government arrangement with South Korea for the acquisition of fire trucks as an example of efforts to lower costs and reduce the role of intermediaries.

“Dati, umaabot sa P16-million ang isang fire truck. Dahil sa ating pagtutulungan at government-to-government transaction with South Korea, napababa natin ito sa P10-million kada fire truck,” he said.

The DILG is also moving to acquire an additional 1,500 fire trucks and 800 mobility assets to address operational gaps and strengthen emergency response nationwide.

Remulla said investments in equipment should be matched by integrity among personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and other agencies.

“Kung ano ang para sa tao, bibigay natin. Kung ano ang binabayad sa atin na suweldo, itrabaho natin. Kung ano ang pera ng tao, kung ano ang nasa kaban ng bayan, i-ayon natin at ibigay natin ang lahat sa serbisyo,” he said.