President Rodrigo Duterte, during his public address on Tuesday (Sept. 7), said that there was no corruption involved in the procurement of medical equipment used in the fight against COVID-19.
“Walang nangyaring korapsyon sa mga procurement ng gobyerno…Walang korapsyon. My first order to Sec. Duque was buy all things kasi namamatay na ‘yung mga doktor,” Duterte said.
“Tayo, may krisis [and] it’s still going on until this very moment. So, the government was hard-pressed to come up with resorts. So, kailangan bumili tayo ng mga suot nilang PPEs, mga masks, face shields, and everything. Those were in need of the moment,” he added.
The President said that under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, it was provided in Sec. 53 that a negotiated procurement shall be allowed in case of imminent danger to life or property during a state of calamity.
“Ibig sabihin nito ay pumapayag na ang batas na walang bidding basta merong kalamidad,” Duterte said.
“Ang pinaka-importanteng malaman ninyo is ito: the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act provided that the president shall have the power to adapt temporary emergency measures to respond to the crisis brought by the pandemic including, among others, the procurement of the following as the need arises in the most expeditious manner,” he added.
According to testing czar National Task Force against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Sec. Vince Dizon, all the PPEs that were bought were all given by National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. and the team with Duque to healthcare workers all for free.
“Bukod pa po rito, walang kahit anong downpayment ang binayaran. Binayaran lang po pagkadating ng PPEs sa Pilipinas at pumasa sa inspection. Sagot po ng importer ang transportation, insurance, and freight rate,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during the public address.
Duterte then said to let Department of Health (DOH) Sec. Francisco Duque III do his job.
“When you give funds to a department, it is programmed by that department…Si Duque ‘yung nagpapatakbo niyan. Hayaan mo siya,” he said.
“Let him make the programs then spend the money. Let him complete his work. At the end of the day, kung palpak ang trabaho niya, then that is the time for reckoning,” he added. –PG – bny
