MANILA — Questions into the Duterte administration’s procurements for its COVID-19 response were not out of vendetta, House Committee on Appropriations vice-chairperson and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said on Monday.

She issued the statement after SAGIP Party List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta called out the queries raised by his colleagues regarding the alleged overpriced COVID test kits and the controversial P47.6 billion fund transfer from the Department of Health to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the panel’s oversight committee meeting on Monday regarding the Department of Health’s budget performance, Committee vice-chairperson and Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo also asked about the P500 price difference she observed between two procurements of test kits with the same brand.

“May mga pagkakataon na parehong-pareho po ang test type, parehong pareho ang brand, pero iba ang naging presyo. The price difference was as high as about P500. For example, may price difference na P2,083 vs P1,562,” Quimbo pointed out.

“I can only surmise why the prices would be different… certain items change their pricing over the time, so I guess we need to look at the date that some items were procured, because they were changing the cost as the pandemic was ongoing,” DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa replied.

“I agree with the statement of Sec. Herbosa. It’s very important to look at the timelines,” former Health Secretary Francisco Duque added.

“Paano kung ang difference in time is just one week. We need to make that determination kung talagang lapse of time was really the cause of that drop in price… Based on our research, we could be wrong, but it could be as low as eight dollars at that time,” Quimbo said.

“We were under and urgent and emergency situation, we cannot allow ourselves to be subjected by a lot of rules and regulations because of the urgency of the situation. That was the very intent of the law. So if we’re examining again by way of questioning what happened in those times, then we are duplicating what happened in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,” Marcoleta replied.

“I am a little bit in doubt as to what the objectives of this committee hearing is. Are we opening those areas again?” he asked.

“The P47.6 billion comes from various funding sources, including the GAA. So that’s part of the reason,” Quimbo replied.