COA: PCSO paid P154.21-M to PTV without a contract

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) paid the Philippine Television Network, Inc. (PTNI) P154.21 million for the airtime and production of its lottery draws without a memorandum of agreement (MOA), state auditors have found.

In its 2020 annual report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the payments made from January 2019 to March 2020 were for the airtime, production, technical equipment, microwave transmission facility, and post-production of the PCSO’s lottery draws.

State auditors said the payments ran contrary to the Government Procurement Reform Act, which requires a MOA for agency-to-agency procurement.

COA said the latest MOA between the PCSO and PTNI expired in December 2018 and was not renewed.

“The absence of a MOA with the PTNI did not serve the best interest of the PCSO as there were no well-defined/concrete terms and conditions that should have bound both parties,” COA said.

State auditors also pointed out that “sanctions and penalties, in case of non-fulfillment/partial fulfillment and/or poor rendition of services, cannot be enforced in the absence of a MOA.”

The PCSO said its payments to the PTNI were backed by a board resolution that approved the automatic renewal of the previous MOA “until such time that procurement of services for airtime, broadcasting, and livestreaming have been completed.”

It added that contracts renewing the services of PTNI were drafted for the periods January 1 to June 30, 2020 and July 1 to December 31, 2020.

However, the renewal and extension of the MOA were “not given due course” by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) due to the provision on automatic extension. The OGCC told PCSO to execute a new contract instead.

The PCSO also said the Gaming Technology Department has endorsed to the Bids and Awards Committee the documents needed to procure airtime, livestreaming, and broadcast services for its lottery draw. — DVM, GMA News