COA upholds disallowance of GSIS’ P25-M purchase of anti-avian flu meds in 2006

The Commission on Audit has upheld with finality its disallowance of the P25.13-million purchase of anti-avian flu medicines by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 2006.

This developed after COA junked the petition for review filed by former GSIS officials Dr. Angel Concepcion, Concepcion Madarang, Consuelo Manansala and Esperanza Fallorin because their motion was filed 337 days after the deadline.

Concepcion, Madarang, Manansala and Fallorina were among the individuals earlier held liable by COA for the unauthorized expenditure on 476,300 Oseltamivir capsules.

Others held liable for the purchase were former GSIS President Winston Garcia and former GSIS trustees Bernardino Abes, Jesse Andres, Daniel Gutierrez, Reynaldo Palmiery and Jesus Santos.

“Having attained finality, the assailed decision is immutable and unalterable and may no longer be modified in any respect, even if the modification is meant to correct erroneous conclusions of fact and law,” COA said in its decision dated August 8 but only released on Friday, August 30.

COA stressed that GSIS had no authority to undertake the procurement of Oseltamivir capsules as a it is not a health or health-related establishment.

“Being a social insurance institution, it does not have the required skills and expertise to determine the existence of an Avian influenza, ore so to treat the same," COA said.

"Hence the procurement of the Oseltamivir capsules has not legal basis and should remain disallowed,” it added.

“A scrutiny of the issues and arguments therein show that they are reiterations, if not rehash, of those stated in the appeal memoranda,” COA said.

Before COA reached its final decision on the matter, its August 1 ruling already found Garcia and nine other officials liable for the anti-avian flu medicine purchases.

Aside from losing the appeal, Garcia and other former GSIS officials Palmiery, Abes, Gutierrez, Andres and Santos were also ordered to return the money spent for the anti-avian flu medicine purchases. —NB, GMA News