PCG returns luxury vehicle flagged by COA

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday said it has already returned the luxury vehicle that was previously flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said that PCG commandant Admiral Artemio Abu ordered the return of the Land Cruiser Prado to a petroleum company.

“Iyong luxury vehicle, isinauli namin iyon, iyong Prado dati. Pinasauli iyon ni Admiral Abu para walang problema. Hindi namin itinuloy (ang bulletproofing ng sasakyan). Sinauli iyon sa Petron bagamat wala kaming nagamit na pera doon kasi iyon nga rebate,” he said.

(We already returned the luxury vehicle, Prado. Admiral Abu instructed to return it to clear the issue. We did not proceed with its bulletproofing. We returned it to Petron even though we did not use any money to purchase it because we used rebates.)

In an annual audit report released in July, COA raised concerns over the PCG's luxury vehicle purchase in 2022 despite an existing ban on such purchases.

COA said PCG purchased a six cylinder, 3956 CC Toyota Land Cruiser Prado worth around P5 million, which is considered a “luxury vehicle" and prohibited under Malacañang Administrative Order No. 14.

State auditors added that PCG also spent P2.8 million for the bulletproofing of the vehicle.

The PCG said that the acquisition of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was necessary for the PCG to ensure safe and secure transportation of the Commandant and to uphold its mandated functions.

Meanwhile, state auditors also flagged the PCG’s acquisition of new vehicles by using rebates from Petron Corporation.

“It is worth mentioning that the National Headquarters (NHQ)-PCG and its Districts owned approximately 459 service vehicles, as evidenced by the Motor Vehicles Schedule obtained from the records,” COA said.

“Considering the total number of motor vehicles, the necessity of acquiring new vehicles to utilize the rebates from Petron Corporation cannot be adequately established,” it added.

The PCG said the acquisition of motor vehicles through fuel, oil, and lubricants (FOL) rebates from Petron Corporation was driven by several key factors which affect the PCG's operational effectiveness.

“The acquisition of vehicles through rebates is an opportunity for the PCG to capacitate the Command to become more responsive to the challenges prompting the organization,” the PCG said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News