Gov, Arthur Yap said he will respect the leadership of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to explain the purchase of the 14 vehicles for the SP members and the Vice Governor.
“We should give the Sangguniang Panlalawigan a chance to respond to these questions,” Yap, said during the regular weekly press conference on Friday, April 16, 2021.
This comes as some observers say that for “delicadeza” the SP should explain its plan to buy new vehicles, amid the pandemic, as the old ones frequently bog down.
The governor said he would let Vice Governor Relampagos explain about the decision as it is the SP which is buying the cars and not the executive branch of the provincial government.
“This is the decision of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan tungod kay this is not a procurement of the provincial government, mao gi respeto nako ang decision sa Sanggunian,” Yap told the media.
The funds to purchase new vehicled will come from the 2021 provincial budget.
The said budget was approved by the SP and signed by the governor.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) already authorized the provincial government to push through with the vehicle’s purchase.
“This refers to your request for a Department Authority to purchase 14 units pick-up type vehicle, for the official use of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, that province,” the DILG said in its authorization dated March 9, 2021.
The procurement of the vehicles was supposed to happen in 2020 but the funds were realigned for Coronavirus disease (Covid) response.
Meanwhile, Yap noted that the provincial government already allotted
P1.2 billion in funds as part of Covid response since last year.
“If we did not spend our money properly, I don’t think we will produce these type of results,” Yap said.