Solon wants probe on ‘overpriced’ QC face shields; LGU refutes claims

Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor has sought an investigation into the alleged overpriced face shields procured by the Quezon City government, a claim the city said lacked context and was unfounded.

Under Resolution No. 2143, he urged the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry on the transaction.

Defensor claimed that the city brought 400,000 face shields in December 2020 at P67.50 per piece for a total of P27 million from supplier Strength Medical and Drug Supply.

Face shields at that time only cost P10 per piece, he added.

“The price paid by the Quezon City LGU was more than 600 percent higher than the going rate. There was an almost P60 premium paid per unit, or a total overprice of at least P24 million for a single procurement,” he said.

TIGNAN: Ang pahayag ng Quezon City government kaugnay sa alegasyon ni Cong. Mike Defensor na “overpriced” ng 24-Milyong Piso ang biniling face shields noong 2020. @dzbb @gmanews pic.twitter.com/afA95ommwY

— Glen Juego (@glenjuego) August 20, 2021

However, the Quezon City government said Defensor did not consider the "context and the timing" of the procurement.

“This was during the time that IATF Resolution No. 88… made it mandatory to wear face shields under the threat of legal sanctions,” it said.

This triggered the immediate necessity to provide our citizens with the means to comply therewith, especially the poor. Along with other factors, this caused a surge in demand and a sharp spike in prices,” it added. 

The LGU also rebutted Defensor’s claims that face shields only cost P10 per piece.

“A little research would have revealed that the Procurement Service of the National Government… was selling the same face shields at P120 per piece to other government units during that time,” it said.

“Effectively, therefore, Quezon City acquired them at half the price,” it added.

In answer to Defensor’s claims that Quezon City did not undergo the required public bidding process, the local government explained that the face shields were procured under an emergency bidding process.

“We procured this under an emergency bidding process… where there were other qualified participants, and we selected the lowest price as mandated by law,” it said.

Quezon City also expressed satisfaction that Defensor’s claims had proven that the public may access the documents of the city’s transactions.

"While he was most like just using these documents for optics, the public can be rest assured that these were meticulously audited and scrutinized by the Commission on Audit, which gave the present QC administration the highest audit score that the city has ever managed throughout its long history,” it said.—LDF, GMA News