DSWD awards P1B Marawi contracts to suppliers with limited capacity?

MANILA --- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) awarded over P1 billion worth of contracts for relief goods for families displaced by the Marawi siege to malls and store chains with “limited financing capacity.”

In a report released last week, the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) said nine companies got a total of P1.1 billion in contracts from the DSWD Field Office Region XII.

The top-three suppliers cornered 13 supply contracts totalling P1.09 billion: Tacurong Fitmart --- seven supply contracts worth P806.8 million; Ororama Supercenter --- three supply contracts worth P158.8 million; and Ace Centerpoint --- three supply contracts worth P128.9 million.

Data gathered by PCIJ showed the financial statements of these malls and store chains may not have been able to handle such projects.

“The big mystery is why DSWD-FO XII awarded contracts in the hundreds of millions of pesos to malls and store chains with medium-size assets and little or limited financing capacity,” the PCIJ said.

Other contracts were awarded to several suppliers as listed in the PCIJ infographic.

Under the terms of the contract, suppliers were to deliver hygiene kits, "family kits," kitchen kits, food packs, and other groceries purchased for displaced residents of Marawi City.

According to the report, the prices for these goods were as follows: P249 per malong, P795 per sleeping kit, P858 per Ramadhan pack, P1,800 per hygiene kit, and P2,325 per family kit.

The contracts were awarded from June 5 to December 29, 2017, as “a shopping frenzy allowed the top-three suppliers to alternately or simultaneously bag huge to mammoth contracts from DSWD-FO XII nearly month on month.”

Delays

Since the awarding of contracts in 2017, however, relief goods have yet to be fully delivered to families from Marawi City.

The PCIJ said suppliers were required to deliver the goods “within seven days” upon the receipt of notice to proceed, as stated in several of the contracts. The goods were to be delivered directly to evacuation centers and temporary shelter sites in Marawi city and other parts of Mindanao.

Despite this, officials from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – where Marawi City is located – have reported several delays, with the last distribution of relief goods at emergency centers taking place last March 2.

Meanwhile, DSWD-FO XII’s last distribution of goods for displaced Marawi residents, both home-based and at emergency centers, was on January 10.

The report noted the long distance between malls and Marawi City may have been a factor in the delay in the delivery of relief goods.

The farthest mall, Ace Ceterpoint, is based in Koronadal City, South Cotabato – a nearly seven hour drive from Marawi City. Tacurong Fitmart, based in Sultan Kudarat, is over six hours away, while Ororama Supercenter is located about two and a half hours from Marawi City.  (Rappler.com / Google News PH)