(Hontiveros, gusto lang ng ‘publicity’) ALEGASYON NA ‘OVERPRICED PPE’ WALANG BASEHAN

MALINAW na gusto lamang umanong umani ng publisidad ni opposition Senator Riza Hontiveros sa pagbalandra nito ng akusasyong overpriced o labis-labis ang presyo ng personal protective equipment (PPE) na binili ng gobyerno sa kasagsagan ng umiiral na national health emergency.

Ito ang tahasang sinabi ni Deputy Speaker at SAGIP Party List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta bilang reaksiyon sa paglalabas ng nasabing senadora ng umano’y ebidensiya sa ibinibintang nito laban sa Duterte administration.

“Senator 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,” pagbibigay-diin ng SAGIP party-list congressman.

Ayon kay Marcoleta, ang mga dokumentong ipinakita ng opposition lawnaker, na umano’y mula mismo sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM), ay nagpapakita lamang ng dalawang bagay: una, ginawa ng DBM ang pagbili ng PPEs mula Abril at Mayo nitong taon; at pangalawa, na ang kontrata ay nai-award sa apat na Filipino at pitong Chinese firms kung saan nakasaad ang “quantity, price at delivery dates” para sa nasabing 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. Without a clear price comparison, allegations of overpricing are simply figments of her imagination,” paggigiit ng Deputy Speaker.

Kaya naman sinabi ni Marcoleta na mas mainam na ang ipinakitang katibayan ni Hontiveros ay ‘comparative matrix’, na may kalakip ng receipts o iba pang dokumento na magpapatunay na may pagkakaiba nga sa presyo.

Dagdag ng kongresista, posibleng sinasabi ng senadora na nakabili ang Philippine General Hospital (PGH) ng PPEs sa mas murang halaga ay mula sa dati pang purchase contract ng huli at alok na presyo ng ilang retail stores dahil wala namang local company na nagawang matugunan ang malaking pangangailangan sa suplay na hinahanap ng pamahalaan bunsod ng Covid-19 pandemic.

“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,” dagdag ni Marcoleta.

“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,” sabi pa niya.

Samantala, paalala ni Marcoleta, bagama’t mayroong oversight power ang Kongreso, hindi ito dapat gamitin at abusuhin ni Hontiveros para lamang sa “self-serving fishing expeditions” nito.

“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 other parties defending their innocence,” tigas na sambit pa ng Deputy Speaker.