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PhilMech denies overpricing, admits 'lapses' in farm tractor deal

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA – The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) on Friday admitted lapses but denied any overpricing in its previous leadership&#x27;s procurement of around a thousand farm tractors. The 1,346 units of farm tractors were bought last year under PhilMech&#x27;s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization program. &quot;I would like to say that there was no overpricing on the purchase of more than [a thousand] tractors; only it’s that the given approved bidding cost by the Department of Budget and Management was not followed properly,&quot; said PhilMech Director Dionisio Alvindia. He said the approved bidding cost was P1.2 million per unit, but this went up to P1.3 million or by P98,000 during the actual bid &quot;because of the suggestions of the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering that we have to include hydraulic ports so that other auxiliaries or equipment can be used to attach to the tractors.&quot; &quot;It happened that the additional hydraulic ports was costing 100,000. That’s why during the time of Director [Baldwin] Jallorina, they made the purchase request as P1.3 million per unit of tractor, without first seeking the approval of the Department of Budget and Management,&quot; Alvindia told ANC. The former awards and bidding committee that handled the transaction &quot;acknowledges their lapses,&quot; he said. &quot;And of course, the entire investigation conducted by DA and by PhilMech was forwarded already to the DA Legal Services for their appropriate action,&quot; added the official. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/22/da-office-probing-thousands-of-overpriced-farm-tractors">DA office probing thousands of &#x27;overpriced&#x27; farm tractors</a></li></ul>Authorities are working to ensure that suppliers of the tractors will be paid immediately, Alvindia said. A senior agriculture undersecretary &quot;already requested the Department of Budget and Management to adjust and to reissue again the authority to purchase motor vehicles for that expired project, and it’s now ongoing and maybe in a week or 2, we can pay now the suppliers,&quot; he said. <div>— ANC, 9 September 2022</div>

The PhilMech admitted lapses but denied any overpricing in its previous leadership's procurement of around a thousand farm tractors. 