Lacson: DND may have violated procurement laws

Former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (Facebook photo)

MANILA – According to former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the Department of National Defense (DND) may have violated procurement laws by purchasing 21 helicopters granted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) when the latter could have had its own Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

Lacson asserted that the AFP should have been permitted to create its own BAC and conduct its own procurement, instead of allowing DND to ‘centralize’ bid committees.

“The DND may have violated certain provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act, which defines clear exceptions for taking away from the procuring entity the procurement of the said helicopters,” Lacson said in a statement.

Lacson noted that the Government Procurement Act allowed the creation of BACs to ‘where the number and complexity of the items to be procured shall so warrant.’

“Such circumstances were not present in this case,” Lacson said.

“Even assuming that no provision of the procurement law was violated, the DND should have allowed the AFP to deal with its own procurement thus limiting their participation to supervision and oversight, unless they have undue interest in such procurement which is apparently the case based on revelations made,” he added.

The Congress, for its part, has been probing on the said purchase of 21 helicopters and has been questioning the deal for being ‘supplier-friendly.’

Prior the recent purchase of AFP helicopters, Lacson had already raised red flags on government procurement processes being ‘supplier-friendly.’ He claimed that the emerging trend may result to the purchase of substandard equipments at high costs.

“In the case of the purchase of UH-1D helicopters for the use of the PAF (Philippine Air Force) or the AFP, the DND should explain why it centralized the creation of the Bids and Awards Committee instead of allowing the procuring entity, which in this case is the AFP, to form its own BAC.

In the first place, the approved budget for the contract is clearly defined in the General Appropriations Act based on the AFP Modernization Act,” Lacson said, referring to DND’s earlier procurement from the Rice Aircraft Services, Inc. and Eagle Copters, Ltd.

Moreover, Lacson urged President Benigno Aquino III and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to order reviews on the controversial procurement of helicopters.