Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday insisted that the procurement of 14,000 body cameras for fire inspectors was above board despite questions raised about the price of the equipment.
“I assure you walang lagayan diyan. I am personally on top of it,” Remulla said during a press briefing when asked by the Daily Tribune about allegations that the price of each body camera had been marked up by about 600 percent.
Online listings show that the RugGear RG360, described as a rugged Android push-to-talk smartphone, is priced at around P5,752 on Ubuy Philippines.
The product was also announced by RugGear on 16 November 2020, indicating that the model had already been on the market for several years before the bulk purchase was made.
However, a document titled “Inventory Custodian Slip” obtained by the Daily Tribune shows that the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Bureau of Fire Protection acquired the devices at P31,000 each.
The purchase of 14,000 units would place the total cost of the procurement at around P434 million.
Remulla said the acquisition was conducted through the government’s Hotline 911 program procurement.
“The entire procurement process was done according to specs (specifications). There's bidding, bid documents.. All the qualifications,” Remulla said, referring to the 2025 procurement process.
The Interior chief, however, did not confirm whether the price per unit was indeed set at P31,000.
“Just to make it clear. Iba kasi ang destinction ng body cam na nakikita niyo sa internet, sa entire system na bibilhin niyo. Yung back up system niyo, ng data, ng flash transmission, ng live feed, data capturing. Ayan fixed cost, so ia-add on mo yun sa cost ng camera doon sa entire ecosystem na ginagawa mo para magfunction siya. Mura lang ang bodycam pero mahal yun (system). Mas nagmumura siya kung mas marami, and in this case parang 14,000 bodycams ang na acquire namin,” Remulla explained.
He said the cost of the body cameras should be viewed as part of a broader system that includes data storage, transmission and live feed capabilities.
The discrepancy in the reported price has since been raised by the Daily Tribune with officials of the DILG and the Bureau of Fire Protection, who have yet to provide full details about the procurement.
The body cameras are intended to be used by fire inspectors as part of efforts to improve transparency and reduce corruption in inspection operations.