Legal officer, councilor trade barbs over ‘pricey vitamins’

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan labelled as  “simple dirty politics” the claims of Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. that the purchase requests made by four departments at the City Hall for various items needed in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19  were “overpriced.”

But Gamboa rebutted saying that “If my intention was to spite or attack my fellow city officials, then yes, I would have waited for the transactions to have been consummated and the vitamins purchased.”

“But then my intention was to ensure that the funds will not go to waste or wrongfully used, so I immediately raised what alarmed me and most Bacolodnons who are now also obtaining these types of items and are well aware of its pricing,” he added.

“We need the funds to purchase these items but the ‘price estimates’ should be reviewed that I believe are unjustifiable.”

Bayatan said Gamboa should have verified the information first since the amounts on the purchase request were simply estimates and the purchase will go through procurement process.

The CLO head further said that Gamboa “is showing his ignorance of the law and ignorance of the fact.”

“He is putting to shame his fellow councilors who deliberated on the budget during a special session,” Bayatan said.

Bayatan explained that under the procurement process, the procuring entity indicates the estimated maximum price of an item in their budget proposal since under the bidding rules, they cannot indicate the brand and supplier of the item.
But Gamboa rebutted that “procurement of these vitamins; et al are bulk orders and negotiated purchase (direct emergency purchase or over-the-counter ‘tiangge type’) under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act which exempts it from the provisions of the Government Procurement Act. Bidding is not required.”

Bayatan shot back saying Gamboa is exposing his ignorance of the law and he should not mislead the people.

He also said almost all councilors “volunteered for different committees in the fight against COVID-19, except for those with co-morbidity,” adding that Gamboa is in the pink of health but did not volunteer.

Gamboa said that as early as April, he had requested that a member of the opposition be included in any committee, however, he was not included even in the poster since he is not a member of the administration party.

Gamboa, who is the lone opposition member of the council, manifested that it is high time for the government to tap other sectors such as the academicians and even “members of the opposition.”

“My stand regarding the Emergency Committees created is to let our medical professionals and experts lead these Committees by letting the medical, IT experts take over such as Epidemiologists, Infectious Disease, med-techs, specialists with technical persons to design and run platforms. Let the SP be part of the solution by creating strategies, policies, measures by crafting legislations in favor of these medical practitioners and frontliners and experts who need our support.”