Now, that the restrictions and the alert level related to the Coronavirus disease (Covid) pandemic are no longer as tight as before, Vice Gov. Dionisio Victor Balite thinks it is now the right time to purchase vehicles for the use of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), including himself.
Yet, the pandemic is far from over. Bohol is still in the status of Alert Level 2. Even with this condition. it will not deter the present leadership of the SP to acquire new vehicles.
The history of the relationship between the Covid pandemic and the plan to buy new vehicles, stretches way back to 2020.
In 2020, the SP had a P24 million budget earmarked to buy new vehicles for SP members including the vice governor.
However, the plans got shelved as the money to buy new cars was used for the Covid response activities.
Then, in 2021, when the Covid cases were still surging, the SP heeded public opinion to push the vehicle purchase plan to the backburner.
Incidentally, at that time, it was Vice Gov. Balite who really stepped on the gas as far as opposing the plans of former Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos and the SP to buy new vehicles are concerned.
In a telephone interview conducted by The Bohol Tribune with Balite on Friday, August 26, 2022, Balite said that the reason he is making a huge turnaround from having been the leading oppositor of the vehicle acquisition plan before to his being the lead advocate of the purchase today is because this is the right time to acquire brand-new cars. At this point, he confirmed the reports that the acquisition process for new cars is now in motion.
“Ang intensyon ana sa una, kay naa man ta sa pandemya, sa panahon nga maoy pag grabe [sa mga kaso], mao to mingreklamo ko nga dili lang sa nato idayon ug palit [ang sakyanan],” the vice governor explained.
He continued that the situation today is more relaxed than the situation a couple of years ago, and as such, he sees it wise to continue with the vehicle acquisition plan now.
Balite confirmed that, indeed, the SP is in the initial process of purchasing 14 new vehicles, with one unit to be assigned to each member of the provincial board and one vehicle to be allocated for the vice governor, himself.
He revealed in the same interview that a pre-bid activity is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022.
“Basin ug karong Wednesday, siguro mag pre-bid,” he told the Bohol Tribune.
Moreover, Balite also pointed out another reason to buy new vehicles for the members of the provincial board and for him as the sitting vice governor. Balite said that the Provincial General Services Office (PGSO) head, Glenn Doloritos, pointed out to him (Balite) that maintaining the old SP vehicles are costlier than getting new ones.
“Almost kada semana dunay mga sakyanan sa mga board members nga magguba, unya ang pag parepair muabot pa sa katunga sa presyo sa original [price] sa bag-o pa siya [the vehicle],” Balite quipped.
The vice governor said that due to the high maintenance costs, it was decided that the SP will procure new vehicles and finally implement the plan which has been deferred for more than 2 years now.
The vice governor said that due to the high maintenance costs, it was decided that the SP will procure new vehicles and finally implement the plan which has been deferred for more than 2 years now.
In 2020, the top reason the SP, under Relampagos, decided to buy new vehicles was the frequent “bog down” of the service cars of the board members.
In one instance, former Board Member Ricky Masamayor said his service vehicle was not anymore worthy to travel. In an interview back in April 2021, Masamayor revealed that he figured in a minor accident while using his assigned service vehicle. At that time, it was explained that the maintenance costs of the vehicles acquired in 2013 were more expensive compared to the cost in buying brand-new cars. Thus, the plan, then, to purchase new vehicles was more cost effective.
For now, the total budget for the procurement of the 14 vehicles is P24 million, according to Balite.
However, the vice governor expects that the actual acquisition cost of the vehicles will be lower than P24 million.
THE BACKGROUND
The SP allocated a budget for new vehicles in 2020. However, the SP, then led by Relampagos, saw it fit to realign the funds for the vehicle purchase to fund the Covid pandemic response.
No one expected a pandemic to happen in 2020, thus the provincial government was unable to provide enough budget for Covid pandemic response.
Then, in 2021, the SP allocated a budget for the purchase of new vehicles and poised to finally implement the acquisition of the said new cars. But in a plot twist, the plan to purchase new vehicles was deferred by Relampagos.
It was Balite who strongly opposed the idea to purchase new vehicles in 2021, a time when the Covid cases in Bohol were still surging.
Back then, the plan of Relampagos and others in the SP to purchase new vehicles drew heavy criticisms from some sectors of the public. The oppositors to the vehicle acquisition pointed out that getting new cars, while Covid cases were surging, was bad timing.
Balite, in a regular session back in April 2021, called the attention of his colleagues at the SP to heed to the public clamor and defer the purchase of new vehicles.
The vehicle acquisition plan was questioned even if according to Relampagos the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) approved the idea to procure new cars.
Furthermore, the issue purportedly reached Malacañang when a person filed a report before the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Hotline. The SP was reportedly asked by the DILG to respond to the filed complaint in relation to the acquisition of new vehicles for the provincial board members.
As the purchase vehicles never materialized, the budget was set aside and placed in the backburner.
Today, Bohol is still under Alert Level 2, while some local government units including Tagbilaran City are under Alert Level 1.
The areas in the province under Alert Level 1 are in the most relaxed state where a wide array of restrictions are already disregarded. In addition, inter-regional travel is easier especially for those who are fully vaccinated. This situation was pointed out by Balite a reason he said that this moment now is the right time to buy new vehicles considering Covid is no longer a huge threat.
As of Saturday morning, Aug. 27, 2022, there were 108 active Covid cases in Bohol, based on the data of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
The data show that even if the province has relaxed its protocol, the fact remains that the pandemic is far from over.