Photo Release

There must be clear accountabilities: Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto says he will introduce a proposal in the 2022 General Appropriations Act limiting the role of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PSDBM) and the Philippine International Trading Corporation. Recto, during the continuation of the virtual hearing of the Blue Ribbon Committee on the 2020 Commission on Audit (COA) report on the utilization of the Department of Health (DOH) budget, particularly on its expenditures for the Covid-19 program, emphasized the need to clarify the accountabilities of the agencies in light of the controversies surrounding the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by PS-DBM in 2020. “We can write a special provision (in the 2022 GAA) limiting the role of PSDBM and PITC or even clarify the accountabilities as well,” Recto said Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Health Sec. Francisco Duque III told the committee that they would fully support the proposal. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)