MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday denied allegations of corruption in the bidding to procure 9mm caliber pistols for its personnel.
In a statement, the PCG said while there is a project for the procurement of pistols, the allegations made by Korean firm Dasan Machineries Co. Ltd. and its joint venture partner were false.
It added that Dasan and its joint venture were disqualified in the bidding due to “questionable and false statements made in its bid documents.”
“There is no truth in the claim of Dasan Machineries Co. Ltd. and as published by several news websites that the pistols are the same type of pistols that will be supplied to the PCG by the winning bidder,” it said.
It also emphasized that there was no truth to the claims that the 9mm caliber pistols were overpriced and that the project procurement was “grossly disadvantageous to the government.”
“The PCG assures the public that in the performance of its duties, specifically in the supply of essential weapons to its personnel, it carefully considers the overall qualifications, competence, and performance of bidders, as well as goods and services that the latter will provide through a transparent, fair, and judicious procurement process consistent with existing government rules and regulations,” it said.
At the time of writing, the PCG has yet to release details about the procurement project, including its total cost and cost for each pistol.
On Monday, a report based on allegations by Dasan accused the PCG Bids and Awards Committee of an anomalous bidding process to procure 9mm pistols.
It alleged that the project had a budget of PhP 971 million to purchase 19, 627 units of 9mm pistols, amounting to PhP 50, 000 per pistol, or more than double its market value of about PhP 20, 000. (PNA)