By BEN ROSARIO
Deputy Speaker and SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta slammed Sen. Risa Hontiveros Thursday for her continued criticism of the government’s purchase of personal protective equipment, saying that this a glaring ”publicity stunt” aimed at tainting the image of the Duterte administration.
Marcoleta dared Hontiveros to back his accusations with solid proof before going to the media to expose the alleged PPE purchase irregularity.
“Sen. Hontiveros bristles at criticisms for not presenting hard evidence to back her claims. However, what she presented to media on Monday only confirms what we’ve known all along: She has no evidence and she can’t prove a baseless claim of overpricing because there’s none,” Marcoleta stressed.
Marcoleta noted that Hontiveros showed 11 pieces of documents purportedly sourced from the Department of Budget Management Procurement Service.
A lawyer, Marcoleta belittled the evidentiary significance of the documents as he pointed out that these merely indicated that the PPEs were purchased by DBM between April and May.
According to the senior administration lawmaker, the documents also indicated that purchase contracts have been awarded to four Filipinos and seven Chinese firms, including the quantity, price, and delivery dates of the protective gear.
“None of these documents show, much less prove, that the PPEs purchased by DBM were overpriced. Something can only be deemed ‘overpriced’ if it can be shown that other companies, Filipinos or otherwise, supplied PPE sets to government with the same specifications, quality, and stock availability at lower prices,” Marcoleta said.
He pointed out that there were no comparisons made on the prices.
”Without a clear price comparison, allegations of overpricing are simply figments of her imagination,” Marcoleta stated.
Hontiveros should have presented a comparative matrix and receipts or other documents showing the claimed price disparity, he said.
Marcoleta said the opposition senator’s claim that the Philippine General Hospital purchased PPEs at much lower prices could only pertain to old, existing stocks from retail outlets as no Philippine company could meet government’s massive emergency requirements.
“It’s a fact that test kits and PPE prices jumped astronomically around April and May as countries tried to outbid each other for much needed supplies for their frontliners. Prices only stabilized as production started to cope with demand by July-August,” he said.
In the case of PPEs bought during the Aquino administration at P3,500 per set, there was very clear evidence of overpricing when compared to the average P1,700 per PPE set bought by the current DBM, he said.
While Congress has oversight powers, Marcoleta said it should not be used and abused by Hontiveros for self-serving fishing expeditions.
She must not wield the vast powers of Congress to cover her failure to do her homework. “It’s basic: The one making the accusations should prove it instead of the accused defending their innocence,” he added.
