The Comptroller of Puerto Rico published the result of the investigation of two complaints about alleged irregularities related to the purchase of repair and maintenance services, at the Administration for the Development of Agricultural Enterprises (ADEA) in the San Sebastián and Caguas offices. The purchases totaled $200,514 for the period evaluated.
The investigation determined that contrary to the provisions of the Purchasing Regulation, none of the repair orders were processed by the Purchasing Office but rather by the area directors. The Regulation states that for purchases not exceeding $3,000, three quotes are required to select one of the suppliers.
The examination carried out by the Office of Complaints and Fiscal Intelligence identified purchases that were split to circumvent the process applicable to purchases not exceeding $40,000. The Regulation provides that in such cases three quotes are required to be referred to the evaluation of the Bidding Board.
These situations prevented the agency from having several alternatives to select the suppliers offering the best bids. In addition, they could have caused irregularities, preferences and/or favoritism with adverse effects for ADEA.
The investigation also detected that the 2003 Purchasing Regulation had not been amended in accordance with the 2010 Reorganization Plan approved by Act 182-2009 on the Reorganization and Modernization of the Executive Branch 2009. In fact, in 2016, the Audit Report of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, DA-17-10, had recommended that ADEA update its Purchasing Regulation.
See Audit Report RIQ-OQIF-20-02.
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