Senate Committee on Public Services Chairman Senator Raffy Tulfo questioned the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for purchasing 191 units of body-worn cameras worth ₱879,000 each in October 2020 from the company Boston Homes Incorporated.
Moreover, Tulfo revealed that in the following year, the PPA again bought an additional 164 units from the same company — this time at an even higher price of ₱1 million per unit.
“Imoral at iskandaloso na masyado ito,” the legislator said.
Based on research conducted by his Senate team, the lawmaker discovered that the said company’s registered address was merely a small apartment in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, and that it had a declared business capital of only P10 million.
Because of this, the senator was baffled as to how a company with such a small capital could be awarded hundreds of millions of pesos worth of contracts funded by taxpayers’ money.
What’s worse, the Commission on Audit (COA) had previously flagged Boston Home for supplying defective equipment to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“The purchases underwent the proper procurement process.”
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago explained that the purchases underwent the proper procurement process and that the cameras were integrated into their National Port Surveillance System — a justification that did not sit well with Tulfo.
Tulfo emphasized that regardless of the supposed sophistication of the system, it was still alarming that the PPA approved such purchases without conducting due diligence or further verification to ensure that a company like Boston Home was indeed qualified to handle such contracts.
He pointed out that if only they had done a proper background check, they would have discovered that Boston Homes had already been flagged by COA in the past for providing defective equipment, had minimal capital, and was operating out of a small apartment.
“The PNP’s body-worn cameras cost only ₱135,000 per unit.”
Tulfo also compared this to his recent discussion with former PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre, who mentioned that the PNP’s body-worn cameras cost only ₱135,000 per unit–a massive difference from what the PPA had purchased.
Because of this, Tulfo advised the PPA and its mother agency, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), to strictly conduct background checks on all companies participating in their project biddings to ensure that only qualified and reputable bidders are considered.
In the end, he directed DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez, who has jurisdiction over the PPA, to investigate the issue and hold accountable the officials involved in the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)–whether retired or still in service–for possible collusion, a move the transport chief agreed to pursue.
