Senator Raffy Tulfo questioned the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) over its alleged purchase of overpriced body cameras in 2020, each costing as much as ₱879,000.
During the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) budget hearing on Thursday, October 9, Tulfo revealed that the PPA procured 191 body cameras from a supplier named Boston Homes under a ₱168-million contract.
Tulfo said his office visited the supplier’s registered address and discovered that it was only an apartment. The senator also noted that the company had a startup capital of just ₱10 million.
According to Tulfo, the Commission on Audit (COA) had previously flagged Boston Homes for delivering defective equipment to the Environmental Management Bureau in 2020. Despite this, the PPA awarded the same company another contract in 2021 for 164 additional body cameras, which were reportedly priced even higher, reaching over ₱1 million per unit.
At the hearing, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago explained that the equipment’s cost included an integrated operating system designed to be compatible with the agency’s CCTV network. He said the bids went through an assessment before approval.
Tulfo, however, questioned why the post-bidding evaluation process failed to detect issues with the supplier. He called the procurement “too scandalous” and urged that those involved in the assessment be dismissed.
DOTr Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez told the committee he would personally investigate the matter.
The issue adds to a growing list of irregularities in government procurement and spending, with similar cases of alleged overpricing and fund misuse surfacing across multiple agencies in recent years. Lawmakers have repeatedly urged stricter monitoring and transparency measures to prevent public funds from being diverted or mishandled.
