DAVAO CITY (July 28) — The Department of Education (DepEd) has formed a fact-finding committee to look into the alleged overpricing of razors purchased by DepEd Northern Mindanao.
The agency acted on report that Education officials in in Region 10 purchased 13 razors at PHP1,878 each, which actually cost only PHP200 in department stores.
The DepEd, in a press statement released Tuesday, claimed the fact-finding body will look into the transaction and collect documents that would help them in the investigation.
“Based on initial reports gathered from the field, the items referred to were part of various tools and equipment for Senior High School Technical Vocational and Livelihood (TVL) Track, procured sometime between April to June 2016 from funds downloaded by the central office sometime in February 2016,” the statement stressed.
But the agency claims they have yet to pay the supplier of the razors because some conditions in the contracts were not yet provided like the documentary requirements, saying “appears to have occurred prior to the term of the present administration.”
The Education department is giving the assurance that it will not tolerate any form or act of irregularity in its procurement processes.
Earlier on, an online news site reported that DepEd regional director Allan Francisco said the razors’ price was dictated upon the regional DepEd office by the DepEd Manila office and that the razors have been delivered by the winning bidder, Davao City-based N. R. Eustaquio Enterprises Inc. as part of the PHP9-million project for TVL students.-Harold V. Pontongan/NewsLine.ph
