By HENRY EMPEÑO | September 11, 2022

IBA, Zambales — Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said over the weekend that the reported “lapses and deficiencies” in the use of some P531 million for Covid-19 related programs and projects in Zambales last year had already been resolved with the Commission on Audit (COA) as early as March this year.

“Those were justified procurement,” Ebdane said, referring to welfare goods, as well as drugs and medical and laboratory supplies purchased by the province last year for residents affected by the pandemic.

He stressed that a management team from the provincial government met with COA auditors in a March exit conference conducted precisely to discuss the findings and recommendations to correct the issues.

Ebdane was reacting to news reports on Friday which claimed that COA spotted lapses and deficiencies in Covid-19 fund disbursements by the provincial government.

The issues included purchase of rice from “considerably distant” suppliers, instead of the National Food Authority (NFA) or local farmers; purchases that were unsupported with a list of affected families or beneficiaries; delayed processing of emergency purchases; and items that were “beyond the reasonable price” set by the Department of Health (DOH).

Ebdane, however, explained that the purchases of rice, medicine and medical supplies were made under the “Bayanihan To Heal As One Act”, which provided for Covid-19 response and recovery interventions, and not under normal procurement laws.

He said the provincial government actually decided to buy rice from private sources in Zambales, but there was not enough stock to go on. “So, we bought rice from suppliers as far as Isabela to ensure both quality and quantity,” Ebdane said.

Ebdane pointed out that they did not want to repeat the sad experience of some municipal governments that bought NFA rice only to find out that the stocks have physically deteriorated. “Our people deserved better; we cannot give them something unfit for human consumption,” he added.

The governor also gave the assurance that they have a complete listing—and even cellphone numbers—of beneficiaries who received welfare goods or ayuda.

As to the reported lapse in procurement and utilization of goods and medicine, Ebdane said that in an abnormal situation like the pandemic, the fluctuations and increases in prices of goods were not controlled by the government.

“Remember that we in Zambales treated all our Covid-19 patients for free, and there was a need to stockpile medicine and laboratory supplies due to their scarcity,” Ebdane said.

“We have even allotted funds for vaccines, but were not allowed to purchase so. And the sad part is that we ended up at the bottom of priorities for vaccine allocation because we have somehow managed to control the spread of Covid in the province,” he also said.

Meanwhile, Provincial Accountant Rosalinda Ecdao said the provincial management team that met with COA auditors during the exit conference had agreed to comply with the audit recommendations.

These included seeking a waiver from the NFA in future transactions should the latter cannot accommodate big orders, Ecdao said.

It was also agreed upon that requests for medicines and medical supplies be made on time to avoid either advance or delayed deliveries, and that written guidelines be established for a systematic distribution of welfare goods to beneficiaries, she added. (30)

PHOTO: Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.