MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Thursday opposed Vice President Sara Duterte's request for special food arrangements during her impeachment trial in the Senate, as it may violate the government procurement law.
In a statement, Lacson also said the Senate still has about P22.6 million in unspent appropriations from the 2025 budget for the impeachment trial that may be used to provide meals for those performing official duties in connection with the proceedings, including the prosecution and defense teams.
The Vice President had written Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian requesting that the Senate shoulder the costs of food, beverage and catering services for the defense team, while requiring that these be sourced exclusively from the Office of the Vice President's accredited caterer.
"As the chairman of the Committee on Accounts, I strongly opposed due to the following reasons: Items 2 and 3 may be highly questionable and irregular in that the Senate has our own caterer that underwent regular bidding process and for us to accommodate OVP’s caterer and even shoulder the expenses incurred to feed VP Duterte’s defense team, support staff and witnesses may be violative of the government procurement law," he said.
Lacwas referring to two of three requests in the Vice President's July 7 letter to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
The second request specified that all food and beverage for the defense team, support staff and witnesses shall be "sourced, prepared and served exclusively by the OVP's accredited caterer."
The third request specified that the Senate "shoulder the reasonable costs of food and beverage and catering services for the defense team, support staff, and witnesses."
Republic Act 12009, or the New Government Procurement Act, prescribes the procedures for the procurement of goods and services by government agencies to ensure transparency, competitiveness, and the prudent use of public funds.
As such, no party may dictate to the government which caterer or supplier it should engage without going through the process prescribed under RA 12009.
