Point of View

This was the banner headline story in Panay News on Aug. 3,  2009:

Syjuco faces plunder rap

By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY

ILOILO City – The Samahang Malaya at Nakakaisang Kawani (Samaka) – TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) is filing a plunder case against Director General Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco for the overpriced training equipment and testing tools intended for scholars and students availing ladderized education.

Over DySI Super Radyo – Iloilo, Samaka-TESDA’s Annie Geron said the association will be filing the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman this week against Syjuco – the first Cabinet member under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dismissed by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) but which Malacañang later overturned.

Geron said the complaint shall be grounded on an audit observation memorandum. State auditors uncovered the overpriced procurement of training equipment and testing tools reaching P60,964,195.38.

The overpricing range from four percent to 42,732 percent, state auditors said.

Geron blamed the Arroyo administration for its failure to “rightfully” act on the cases previously filed against Syjuco.

In January last year, Malacañang dismissed the corruption case filed against Syjuco in connection with the printing of his book, Salabat for the Filipino Soul that cost TESDA P9.2 million.

PAGC found Syjuco and several others liable for corruption. But Malacañang elevated the case for resolution to the Committee of Peers on the account of his rank. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, through a resolution dated January 30, 2008, cleared Syjuco.

“Masyado ng malubha at palala ng palala ang korapsyon sa TESDA,” Geron said.

Nothing is left for the scholars “with all these frauds,” she added.

The deal resulted in undetermined amount of losses disadvantageous to the government, according to the Audit Observation Memorandum dated March 12, 2009 by Audit Team Leader State Auditor IV Crescencia L. Escurel and State Auditor V Fatima Almo-Rafer, supervising auditor of the Department of Labor and Employment Audit Group.

The memorandum was addressed to Syjuco.

The figure represents at least 20.18 percent of the total procurement cost of P302,109,054.53, including price differences in the deliveries by VG Roxas Co. Inc., compared with the 2005 deliveries by another supplier of similar training tools and equipment.

The fund was a loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Documents showed that the training equipment and training tools were delivered by V.G. Roxas Co., Inc under the Ladderized Education Program-TESDA (LEPTES) and Nordic Development Fund – TESDA (NDFTES).

State auditors said the transaction was contrary to Section 3(g) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) which identified corrupt practices of public officers, including “entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby.”

The tolls and equipments were delivered by V.G. Roxas and Co., Inc. in TESDA regional offices I, III, IV, V, VI, VII and XI on various dates from November 2008 to January 2009, based on the inspection by the audit team.

“Upon inspection, the Team observed that almost all the delivered training tools and equipment were of low quality and were quite overpriced based on the Team’s knowledge of prices of common household tools, supplies and equipment and actual observation of some deliveries which bear tag price coming from certain stores,” the memorandum read.

For example, an incubator was priced at P15,375. However, a price tag revealed the cost was only P149; the hatching bucket was priced at P43,750 but the price tag on the item showed only P900.

“The low quality of the tools and equipment was prevalent that some officials/employees in the TESDA regional offices called them “training toys” because some tools easily broke for just one or few uses,” the audit team emphasized.

A plastic medicine cabinet (like a similar one bought for about P200 to P300 in 2007) was now priced at P2,182.86 with a 614 percent price difference.

A dough cutter was charged to TESDA for P48,507.46 but the actual purchase was made for P120 only, or with a P48,387.46 price difference or 40, 323 percent overpriced.

“The price differences were so prevalent based on the actual knowledge of some staff that they refused to accept the items. Others informed the Team that they just kept them in locked cabinets for fear that these might get lost and they would be made to pay expensively,” explained the audit team in their memorandum.

In support of the audit claim of overpricing, they made various canvasses and made actual purchase of some items. These revealed huge price discrepancies from 13 percent and exorbitantly high as 42,732 percent.

Two training simulator VCDs entitled “Gabay sa Negosyo” produced by the Broadcast Media Department, Media Communications Group in 1999 and the Technology Resource Center (TRC), was charged by VG Roxas Co., Inc for P306,250 for two VCDs.

The Audit Team validated the figure with the Office of the Auditor of the TRC, which showed that the two VCDs for the entire “Gabay sa Negosyo” was priced P715 with 20 percent discount for government entities, or P42,732 percent overpriced, equivalent to P305,535.

The Audit Team said there were also similar items delivered and priced differently. For example, the janitor cart priced at P10,611.76 was also delivered as housekeeping cart, costing P28,941.18. Common household tools and equipment showed an overprice ranging from 29 percent to 40, 323 percent./PN