Albayalde: PNP ready to face Senate probe on P1.893-B purchase of patrol jeeps

The Philippine National Police on Friday said it is ready to face a Senate probe into the P1.893-billion purchase of patrol vehicles that were deemed as "disadvantageous" by the Commission on Audit.

"We are ready and willing to cooperate in any Senate investigation, and we will provide the necessary documents regarding the acquisition of the Mahindra patrol vehicles," PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said in a statement.

Earlier, Senator Grace Poe filed Senate Resolution No. 777 urging the Senate to look into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of Mahindra Enforcer and Mahindra Scorpion in 2015.

In the resolution, Poe stated that Republic Act No. 6975, otherwise known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, mandates the PNP to procure equipment that will adequately protect the public.

In its report, COA said it interviewed police officers using the vehicles and found out that 57.20 percent or more than half of them were unsatisfied with the overall performance of the Mahindra vehicles.

The most common complaint about the vehicles was their high fuel consumption, which contradicts the specifications set by the National Police Commission for them to be fuel-efficient.

The COA blamed the problem on the PNP's failure to conduct an "operational needs assessment" before buying the vehicles. This, the COA said, "pushed back the full attainment of the objective of the Capability Enhancement Program (CEP) of the PNP."

The COA said the non-evaluation of the actual performance of the initial 1,656 Mahindra vehicles bought before buying additional units resulted in 206 units not being effectively utilized out of the total 2,054 units purchased.

Among the problems encountered with the vehicles were the frequent breakdowns, a poor after-sales services and a limited availability of spare parts that "impacted on its vision of a more capable, effective and credible police force."

The PNP, meanwhile, earlier said the bidding and procurement of the Mahindra Enforcer and Mahindra Scorpio vehicles in 2015 were conducted by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management.

PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. said the PNP only submitted the specification requirements needed for for the purchase.

"We have to emphasize that the procurement of Mahindra, from the bidding process until its procurement was not done by the Bids and Awards Committee by the Philippine National Police but by the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management," Durana said.

"So it is beyond us, the only thing that we've contributed is to set the specification based on the operational needs assessment that were conducted earlier," he added. — RSJ, GMA News