In summary, the
COA said it may be deduced that the two bidders/contractors were included merely to comply with the 'at least three bidders requirement' as stated under the Procurement law.
These were 'due to the following factors which the consultants and management failed to consider during the preliminary engineering study on the viability of the projects,'
COA explained.
Its exit conferences and audit engagements with
COA have been very positive and reassuring, according to the DepEd, noting that the department has instituted new policies and is in the process of updating, simplifying and codifying its internal rules as part of its financial reform efforts.
These, DepEd noted, refer to several Audit Observation Memoranda (AOMs) issued by various
COA auditors as well.
The
COA further observed that the posting or updating of earned leave credits of some employees were not done on a monthly basis.
Last year, Taiwan imported NT$2.15 billion (US$69.5 million) worth of pork and processed pork products (including frozen pork, seasoned pork and canned pork) from Canada, making the country the top source of pork for Taiwan, according to statistics on the
COA website.
The
CoA formed a three-member panel to probe the allegation.
According to a note, this was out of a common concern for the manner in which the
CoA was systematically taking decisions of long-term consequence to the BCCI, which was not the mandate given to them by the Supreme Court.
The nonweighted totals for each
COA are equal; but when weighted,
COA B deviates more from the ideal in the most important criterion and is therefore penalized more heavily.
They also noted that a
COA board member serves as the president of the Friends and a part-time employee of the
COA is treasurer of the Friends.
Over the next few months, Weintraub will reach out to past
CoA chairs to gather information about the contributions and accomplishments they made during their time in the top spot.