Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) division chief Rendell Sopeña says his office cannot determine whether government contracts are irregular, explaining that such findings are generally made during the audit process, during the 30th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, September 28.
During cross-examination by defense lawyer Atty. Batumbacal, Sopeña said determining compliance or irregularities in contracts is not part of PhilGEPS’ mandate.
“The oversight and compliance po is not part of the mandate of the FGF's office. We are merely the repository of the procurement data, sir,” Sopeña said.
Batumbacal then asked whether Sopeña can say that any of the contracts under discussion were awarded irregularly. House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro objects, saying the question is beyond the witness’s competence.
Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero, however, asked Sopeña whether his office could identify any apparent lack of compliance based on the information available to it.
Sopeña reiterated that PhilGEPS primarily relies on procurement information uploaded to its system and does not assess whether the submitted documents are correct, complete, or otherwise compliant.
Escudero then asked whether Sopeña would know if there were wrong or incorrect documents in the records submitted.
“Tama po, Your Honor,” Sopeña answers.
When asked whose responsibility it is to identify such irregularities, Sopeña says they are “mostly being found during the audit process.”
“COA na yan?” Escudero asked, referring to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Sopeña explains that PhilGEPS has no responsibility to determine whether the information uploaded by government entities is complete or correct.
“We are basing kasi, Your Honor, yung mga ina-upload. So, we have no knowledge po talaga kung ano,” he said.
Escudero also asked whether PhilGEPS communicates with the government entity that uploaded the information when it sees missing or incorrect documents.
“It’s not part of. Hindi rin po namin ginagawa,” Sopeña said.
The clarification comes as the Senate impeachment court examines government contracts involving GenCorp Industries Inc. under Article II of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte.
