An official of the Commission on Audit (COA) in Region 1 reminded officials and employees of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), who are involved in the procurement of supplies and materials, that they would be penalized with 6 to 15 years imprisonment if they violate the procurement law as embodied in Republic Act 9184.

Engr. Orlando G. Soco, COA service chief, said MMSU employees should strictly comply with the provisions of Section 23 of RA 9184 not only for the good of MMSU, but also in support of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s program of eliminating graft and corruption in the government.

Soco issued the advise on March 8 during the orientation seminar on RA 9184 held at the University Training Center (UTC) before the more than 100 employees of the university who are either members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) or those involved in the procurement of government supplies and materials.

In his lecture on the procurement of goods and infrastructure projects, Soco cited as an example the purchase of the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 luxury vehicle for Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno in 2016 that cost P9 million including the cost for bullet-proofing. The procurement of the vehicle has created an outcry from various sectors of society alleging that such act is too much of a burden for the taxpayers.

“That’s why I want everyone here in MMSU to observe every provision of the law especially in the eligibility requirements for the procurement of goods and infrastructure projects to avoid being disallowed by the COA,” he said.

Situations show that corruption continues to persist in the country despite Pres. Duterte's tough stance against it. Records in 2016, which was reported by Forbes, show that corruption in the Philippines reinforced poverty by diverting resources that could help the poor, which numbers nearly one fifth of the 102 million Philippine population. During the same year, the country allegedly lost billions of dollars on illicit financial flow.

Dr. Prima Fe R. Franco, MMSU vice president for academic affairs, thanked DBM-1 for initiating this orientation seminar on RA 9184 and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) saying that such  activity is very timely because of the fear that is now being instilled in the minds of the heads of procurement entities (HOPEs) of state universities and colleges (SUCs) in Region 1.

Dr. Franco said two of her friends who were HOPEs were dismissed recently from the government services because of their alleged violation of RA 9184 and, as a result, all their benefits due them were forfeited.

“We don’t want that to happen here in MMSU that’s why we are very grateful to COA and DBM for giving us this orientation seminar so that we can abide by the provisions of this law and work together for a clean financial governance,” she said.

 Anent to this, Dr. Franco assured the COA of a transparent procurement process and in the implementation of procurement contracts through wide dissemination of bid opportunities and participation of pertinent non-government organizations.

“We promise to pursue competitiveness by extending equal opportunity to enable private contracting parties who are eligible and qualified to participate in competitive bidding,” the vice president said, adding that the procurement process in MMSU shall be simple and made adaptable to advances in modern technology in order to ensure an effective and efficient method.