Reliability of non-gov’t tested PNP shotgun ammo ‘doubtful’ – COA
State auditors have aired strong doubts on the reliability of shotgun ammunition purchased by the Philippine National Police (PNP) last year.
They expressed this doubts after the Commission on Audit (COA) discovered that functional tests were conducted by the owner of the firm that supplied the 119,333 shotgun shells or shotshells, instead of the government.
COA reprimanded the PNP for procuring some R157.6 million worth of goods and services through “shopping or small value” purchase instead of resorting to public bidding for bulk purchases.
The 2016 PNP annual audit report that COA released Friday also indicated the audit agency’s observation that some R239.9 million in cash advances have not been liquidated by various police regional offices.
COA asked the PNP to require its purchasing and bids and awards committee to justify the reasons for allowing the supplier to conduct the functional tests for the purchased shotshells at the cost of R2,601,459 to the government.
Auditors said functional tests of acquired ammunition should have been conducted by the Government Arsenal under the Department of National Defense (DND).
“The reliability of the functional test for eligibility and acceptance conducted by ARMSCOR who is the major stockholder of Armscor Shooting Center, Inc., the supplier of the 119,333 pcs. Shotshell, 12 GA Buck “00”, instead of the Government Arsenal, Department of National Defense is doubtful,” COA stated.
The state audit agency stressed that the test findings submitted by ARMSCOR to attest to the “eligibility” of its product “were self-serving.”
“The test conducted is a deviation from the usual practice of having the Government Arsenal of the DND conduct the tests based on prior year’s review of procurement of ordnances by the PNP,” state auditors said.
More shady deals COA also noted deficiencies in the procurement of other goods and services in 2016 as it noted that PNP spent R157.66 million in purchasing them from the “same suppliers and contractors through shopping.”
In PNP Regional Office IVB, its R4.4 million worth of small value procurement had exceeded the allowable expenditure threshold provided under the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Purchases made from Lei Grace Ent., Maylinda Ent. Gina De Vera Canteen were questioned by auditors for “depriving the agency of more advantageous offers” under a public bidding procurement system.
In the same audit report, COA demanded the immediate liquidation of some R239.9 million in cash advances for operating expenses, payroll and special disbursing officers.
“We recommended that management require the SDOs [to] liquidate the cash advances granted within the reglementary period and/or return or refund immediately the cash advances which are no longer needed or has not been used for a period of two months,” the audit office stated.