Robredo orders probe into P131.5M overpriced PNP rubber boats

UPDATED 1:00 p.m. - Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has ordered an investigation into the purchase of allegedly overpriced police rubber boats and motor engines worth P13.5 million during the term of former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jesus Verzosa in 2009. In a press conference in Quezon City on Tuesday, Robredo said he instructed incumbent PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo to lead a "comprehensive investigation" into the alleged anomaly. Robredo also ordered Bacalzo to file appropriate charges against responsible officials and find ways to recover the amount used to purchase the equipment. "Former PNP chief Gen. Jesus Verzosa, the members of the PNP National Headquarters Bids and Awards Committee and others involved in the acquisition of said defective and deficient rubber boats and outboard motors could be held liable for this irregular or anomalous transaction," Robredo said. Reached for comment, Verzosa's spokesman Benjamin delos Santos said the former PNP chief welcomed any investigation into the alleged overpriced equipment. Verzosa, who is in Pangasinan, maintained that "systems and procedures are in place in the PNP bidding processes." "Complete staff action is undertaken before it reaches me for approval and have no knowledge or information of any irregularities or violation of the procurement law," Verzosa said. Robredo said the purchase included 75 rubber boats each priced 1.165 million, and 93 outboard motor worth P44.1 million (each priced at P475,000). The maritime equipment were bought for the emergency operations during the rampage of Storm Ondoy in September 2009. An inspection by the PNP Maritime Group Technical Inspection Committee on Watercrafts, however, eventually found out "numerous defects and deficiencies with the acquisition." Robredo said the rubber boats delivered were not "emergency rubber boats" but were simply "recreational boats." "The rubber boat and its outboard motor were not compatible, meaning they won't fit with each other. The [National Police Commission] standard is 40 horsepower outboard motors but those delivered were 60 horsepower," Robredo said. "I was informed that the members of the PNP NHQ BAC junked the Napolcom specification, violated the government procurement laws, skipped the bidding process, and justified the negotiated/emergency procurement becauseof Typhoon Ondoy," he added. The more than P1 million freight costs for the deployment of the rubber boats were likewise not included in the contracts, he added. Robredo said the PNP should undergo a complete procurement reform. "Gusto namin linsin ang procurement sa PNP. Ang nakikita namin ay linisin na ang nakaraaan transaksyon," he said. Robredo said that as early as September 2010, the Maritime group has already recommended to Bacalzo to hold in abeyance the rubber boats and outboard motors because using them would "risky to the end users." - VVP/RSJ, GMA News