IF MY MEMORY still serves me right, I first came across the name “Ted Herbosa” during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then that he made himself “visible” on social media — floating suggestions and promoting health-related advocacies.
His noise somehow worked in his favor as then President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the primary body responsible for managing the country’s response to the pandemic.
In fairness, he did well as an IATF-EID member. To be perfectly honest, Herbosa did better than former Health Secretary Francisco Duque — or so I thought.
‘Enacted in July last year, the New Government Procurement Act aims to increase transparency, efficiency, and sustainability through electronic procurement, public monitoring, beneficial ownership declarations, and simplified procurement methods like direct acquisition.’
HEALTH BROUHAHA
Moving forward, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named Herbosa to take the lead at the Department of Health (DOH).
I was under the impression that his advocacy on Universal Healthcare would be his top agenda. I was wrong though.
During his early years, he went on what looked more like junkets which had little effect on public health. Since being appointed in mid-2023, Herbosa has figured in a long list of brouhahas, which included purchase and distribution of expired, almost expired — and in some instances, fake vaccines.
It was also under his watch that the Commission on Audit flagged the DOH for the expiration of P11.5-billion worth of medicines and vaccines, the two-year lull in the treatment of tuberculosis, PhilHealth zero-subsidy, and ghost health centers, to name a few.
MISTER CLEAN?
In a previous news article which first appeared on The PH Insider, Herbosa’s name was dragged into what looks more like another Dengvaxia scandal, except that the new controversy involved fake anti-rabies vaccines being administered to humans who were bitten by dogs, cats and other mammals.
A little over a week ago, the Office of the Ombudsman received a complaint against the person who has effectively portrayed himself as Mister Clean.
In a letter dated November 25, a group of government employees urged Ombudsman Crispin Remulla to seriously consider the idea of looking into what they claimed as bid-rigging in the procurement system of the DOH.
The complaint particularly tagged Herbosa “behind the rigging of bids for the Supply, Delivery, Testing and Commissioning of 150 units of Brand New Mobile Primary Care Facility at P12 million per unit, which translates to a staggering P1.8 billion just for a single procurement transaction.
According to the complainants, Dr. Gregorio Murillo Jr. in his capacity as Undersecretary for Health Facilities Enhancement Program on November 5 approved the Terms of Reference for Supply, Delivery, Testing and Commissioning of 150 units of Brand New Mobile Primary Care Facility.
A week after, Herbosa’s minions Aquino and Tope instructed Murillo to substitute their own version of the technical specification for the project.
I must admit, I am not a lawyer. But from a taxpayer’s vantage point, Herbosa is no longer the same Mister Clean I used to know. He should be made accountable for serious violations of the Anti-Graft Practices Act, the New Government Procurement Act primarily designed to quell corruption in government transactions .
E-PROCUREMENT
Enacted in July last year, the New Government Procurement Act aims to increase transparency, efficiency, and sustainability through electronic procurement, public monitoring, beneficial ownership declarations, and simplified procurement methods like direct acquisition.
The key features of the law include modernization through comprehensive digitization and automation of the entire procurement process, from planning to payment.
It also boasts of electronic procurement which mandates the use of electronic tools, an electronic marketplace, and the interconnectivity of government procurement systems.
More than the modern-day technology (automation of the procurement process), RA 12009 is primarily designed to enhance transparency and accountability through open contracting standards for accessible information; and public monitoring with the help of observers and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
It also mandates beneficial ownership declarations to prevent conflicts of interest; video recordings of all procurement-related conferences for public viewing; and streamlined procurement methods.
Under the streamlined procurement methods are direct acquisition for lower-value items or those not available in the common-use supplies catalog; enhanced negotiated procurement which incorporates negotiated procurement from international bodies and adds requirements for advanced technologies and critical health goods.
Not one of the aforementioned safeguards were complied with in the acquisition of the 150 units of Brand New Mobile Primary Care Facility.