AMLC called out for buying pricier phones in 2017

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit has called out the Anti-Money Laundering Council for buying 16 expensive mobile phones worth half a million pesos, which was not in the approved procurement plan.

Based on the COA's annual audit report recently published on its website, the AMLC on December 29, 2017, bought 16 units of Apple iPhone 7 at P37,388.88 each, or a total of P598,222.08

The COA said that while the items were delivered to the AMLC as scheduled on January 12, 2018, the procurement did not conform to the annual procurement plan (APP) of the agency approved by the Department of Budget and Management.

The COA said that based on the AMLC's APP for 2017, the council was allowed to purchase 24 cellular phones at P25,000 each, or a total of P600,000.

Based on the APP, the phones would be used in the "conduct of bank inquiry, surveillance and data gatherings by existing and additional number of financial investigators."

"The approved budget of P25,000 per unit may be considered a reasonable price for the purchase of cellular phone that can serve the purpose and meet the technical specifications stated in the aforesaid [purchase] request," the COA report read.

The COA said the procured high-end brand of cellular phones are 49.55 percent higher than its approved budget per unit of P25,000 or a total increase of P198,222.08 for the 16 units.

"Consequently, there was a reduction in the quantity from 24 to 16, with a difference of eight units that were not provided to other planned/intended users," the COA said.

In its comment to the audit report, AMLC management said its Criminal and Investigation Group opted to purchase Apple iPhones instead of Android phones as Apple iOS is deemed "more secured" than Android OS.

The AMLC said the security issue became its primary consideration the as "investigators are exposed to security risks and the line of communication susceptible to hacking."

The audit team, however, maintained that the deviation from the APP was in violation of Section 7.2 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, which states that "no procurement shall be undertaken unless it is in accordance with the approved APP, including approved changes thereto."

The COA also pointed out that important concerns, specifically the security features of the phone to be purchased, should have been taken into account "during the planning stages in the preparation of APP or supplement thereto" instead of abruptly deviating from the plan without any written approval.