Righting the wrong, not just rightsizing

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman should right a very big wrong before she thinks of implementing rightsizing.

And that wrong is right inside her department – the notorious Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, those infamous initials PS-DBM that have become synonymous with overpriced deals and anomalous purchases.

The s**t hit the fan with the exposé on the Pharmally Pharmaceutical scandal – bilking the government of millions, billions maybe, at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. For that alone, the crooks behind the deal should be tried and hung by their toenails. There was a long drawn out Senate investigation, but the crooks were “protected” and to this date, are out scot free.

Now there’s more scandalous activities at the PS-DBM – overpriced and sub-standard laptops for our teachers, more PPEs of questionable quality (not FDA-approved) for our health frontliners…all in the billions of pesos.

How many other anomalies are hidden within the offices of the PS-DBM? How many other under-capitalized companies with no proven track record have bagged lucrative contracts based on “kaibigan/kamaganak” connections or “check appeal” – or both?

Get rid of PS-DBM and the government will save so much money, just from the amounts that go into private pockets. But first, let’s get those crooks and make them pay back their kickbacks. – JP CASTRO, Valenzuela City