PhilGEPS officials testify on procurement irregularities in Duterte impeachment trial

During the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, PhilGEPS officials testified regarding procurement irregularities involving GenCorp Industries Inc., a company listed in the Vice President’s financial disclosures. Rendell Sopeña, PhilGEPS division chief, revealed that Davao City, under Mayor Sebastian Duterte, awarded 15 contracts to GenCorp, with 11 of those processed through negotiated small-value procurement rather than public bidding. These 11 contracts, totaling approximately P8 million, involved identical goods such as food and catering services.

GenCorp has secured 49 government contracts worth roughly P35.9 million from various agencies. Senator-judges raised concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest and the possibility that contracts were split to circumvent bidding requirements.

In response to these vulnerabilities, PhilGEPS is developing new tools under the New Government Procurement Act to automatically detect collusion, bid rigging, and unusually repetitive contract awards. The upcoming system aims to include enhanced beneficial ownership information and end-to-end electronic tracking to prevent preferential procurement patterns.