ANDANAR PRESSED FOR NPO PROBE RESULT
TRANSPARENCY and accountability watchdog Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE) urged Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar to disclose the result of the investigation it ordered regarding the alleged anomalous transaction in
FATE asked Andanar to divulge the result of the probe of Communications Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Enrique Tandan, which he promised since Friday.
“Nasaan na ung pinangakong resulta ng imbestigasyon ni Secretary Andanar? Nag-jo-joke din ba siya tulad ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte? We hope that our appeal will not fall into deaf ears since nangako si Secretary Andanar na matatapos ang imbestigasyon in two weeks time [Where is the promise that Andanar will show the result of the investigation. Is he joking like President Duterte? We hope that our appeal will not fall into deaf ears because Andanar promised in two weeks],” said FATE.
“Mas gusto pa yata ng mag party ni Secretary Andanar sa Valykrie kaysa bigyan ng kasagutan at sol us y on ang problem as a NPO [ It looks like Andanar is more inclined to party with Valykrie than looking for answers to the problems at NPO],” said FATE referring to photos circulating on social media showing Andanar partying with a celebrity.
Aside from the granting of work orders to three additional printers, FATE has urged Andanar to also look into allegations that there were individuals allegedly acting as “collectors” or “middlemen” for NPO printing contracts.
Last November 21, Tandan, upon orders of Andanar, asked NPO Director Francisco Vales agreements or arrangements with Western Visayas Printing Corp. ( WVPC) and the three other printing companies namely: Best Forms Security Printer; Tri-Print Work; and Metro Color.
“Even if it seemed Andanar is disinterested in handling the NPO, he must have shown compassion among its workers instead. As a self- sustaining agency, printing jobs should be given primarily among its workers,” said FATE, a Security and Exchange Commission-registered organization. NPO is an attached agency under PCOO.
FATE suggested that the probe ordered by Andanar should not only focus on redundant printing orders but should also ascertain who are liable for the alleged anomalous transaction.
The group had also called on the Commission on Audit (COA) to look into the reported work orders entered into by NPO despite existing contracts with WVPC worth P74 million.
Work orders were awarded to three printers, Best Forms Security Printer with envelope no. 082016-3877A worth P34 million; Tri-Print Work with work order 08-2016-3877B amounting to P17 million; and Metro Color with work order no. 08-2016-38777C for P15 million.
In the wake of reported transactions, NPO Bids and Awards Committee Chair Sherwin Prose Castañeda quit his post, along too much pressure from Vales as their reason.