PH transport security screening equipment bought in 2017 ‘not fully utilized,’ says audit commission
SECURITY screening equipment (SSE) purchased for the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) “were not fully utilized” because some were “defective and unserviceable,” according to an audit report for 2017.
“Based on the confirmation replies and inspection conducted which relate to 396 of the 434 items covered by the confirmation letters/inspection, 369 SSE were found operational, while 24 were defective/unserviceable and three (3) were not being used,” the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
The now defunct Department of Transportation and Communications entered into a contract agreement with the Defense and Protective Systems Phil., Inc. (DPSPI) in 2013 “for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of one lot of personnel and baggage screening equipment.”
DPSPI delivered equipment to various airports nationwide from 2014 to 2016.
Twenty-two of the 24 defective/unserviceable equipment were returned to the supplier for repair on various dates in 2016 and 2017 “covered by warranty,” according to the audit report. The 22 included 17 handheld metal detectors (HHMDs), four Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), and a constant voltage transformer (CVT).
As to the two others, the supplier replaced a CVT with a new unit in 2016 while the “OTS will allocate budget for the repair” of an “X-Ray Initial,” which was damaged by rodents.
One “Cargo X-Ray” was kept at an airport’s engineering/maintenance building because there was no available space to house or install it, according to COA.
“According to the Management, the New Panglao Airport in Bohol had requested for the said equipment, hence, initial actions were already taken for its transfer from the Iloilo Airport,” the audit report stated.
It also stated that a UPS and a CVT “[s]erved as spare units in case of any reported defective unit caused by recurring power loss/failure, which the Davao Airport used to experience.”
MA. REINA LEANNE C. TOLENTINO
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