MANILA — Senate Committee on Public Services Chairman Sen. Raffy Tulfo grilled the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) over its purchase of body-worn cameras costing up to ₱1 million each, calling the transactions “immoral and scandalous.”

During a Senate hearing, Tulfo questioned the PPA’s procurement of 191 bodycams worth ₱879,000 each in October 2020 from Boston Homes Incorporated. He revealed that the following year, the agency bought another 164 units from the same company at an even higher price of ₱1 million per unit.

“Imoral at iskandaloso na masyado ito,” Tulfo said.

Tulfo’s office found that Boston Homes’ registered address was a small apartment in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, and that it had a declared business capital of only ₱10 million. The senator expressed disbelief at how a company with such a small capital was able to secure contracts worth hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds.

He also noted that the Commission on Audit (COA) had previously flagged Boston Homes for supplying defective equipment to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago defended the purchases, saying they went through the proper procurement process and that the cameras were integrated into the agency’s National Port Surveillance System. However, the explanation failed to satisfy Tulfo.

The senator said that regardless of the project’s purpose, it was alarming that the PPA approved such transactions without verifying the company’s qualifications and track record. He pointed out that a simple background check would have revealed the firm’s limited capital, small office, and past COA findings.

Tulfo also compared the PPA’s purchase to the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) procurement of body-worn cameras, which he said cost only ₱135,000 per unit.

Because of this, Tulfo urged the PPA and its mother agency, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), to conduct stricter background checks on companies participating in government biddings to ensure that only qualified and reputable contractors are considered.

He then directed DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez to investigate the matter and hold accountable all PPA officials involved in the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), whether retired or still in service, for possible collusion. Secretary Lopez agreed to pursue the probe.