TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — Tarlac City local government has been flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for different issues regarding the purchase of medicines — from overpricing items, failure to deliver, and total non-procurement despite a huge budget.
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A Fraud Audit Investigation report from COA regarding Tarlac City’s medicine procurement from 2017 to 2018 lists the following recommendations for disallowance of transactions:
- Disallowance of P7.09 million due to the approved budget for contract (ABC) significantly exceeding mandated price ceilings
- Disallowance of P843,900 due to after the medicines procured were not part of the approved Philippine National Formulary list
- Disallowance of P35.93 million due to the contracts named either “Angel” or “Anghel”, in association to the name of Mayor Maria Cristina Angeles
- Disallowance of P2.80 million due to medicines having vague and incomplete specifications
- Disallowance of P50.83 million due to six procurement contracts for medicines being fully paid despite incomplete documents
COA also recommended the filing of cases against several officials, including the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat Cesarina Macuha and Mayor Angeles who were alleged as responsible for the different flagged transactions.
“The case stemmed from various anonymous letter-complaints against Mayor Maria Cristina C. Angeles and some officials of the City Government of Tarlac (CGT) involving several transactions entered into by the local government from CYs 2016 to 2018,” COA said.
“This breach led to purchases of medicines that were above the price ceilings established in the Drug Price Reference Index (DPI), 4th Edition, resulting in an excess expenditure of P7,090,691.10, Such violation not only undermined the integrity of government procurement processes but also reduced the number of essential medicines that could have been made available to more beneficiaries,” COA added regarding the first disallowed transaction.
According to COA, purchasing overpriced medicine compromised the objective of obtaining the most advantageous prices.
“This directly compromised the fundamental objective of obtaining the most advantageous prices for essential medicines, ultimately impacting the healthcare system’s efficiency and accessibility,” COA added.
Without prior approval
But aside from the medicines, Tarlac City’s transactions regarding the asphalting of Tañedo Street with a contract worth P26.59 million, were also flagged as COA said these contracts were awarded without prior approval from the City Council.
COA also recommended that the P26.59 million transaction be disallowed.
Meanwhile, there is also a P45.64 million contract for four infrastructure projects that COA asked to be disallowed, as while the contract was awarded to 3-Sides Builder and Trading Corporation, over 70 percent of the materials were sourced from Northern Builders — a company owned by Angeles’ husband Victor Manguerra Angeles.
“We recommend that the amount of P45,641.216.02 be disallowed and that City
Mayor Cristina C. Angeles, being the HoPE (head of procuring entity), is deemed liable not only for the disallowance but also for violation of Section 108 of PD No. 1445, Section 53, Book V/Title I/Subtitle B/Chapter 9 of EO No. 292, Section 89 (a)(1) of RA No. 7160, Section 7(a) of RA No. 6713 and Section 3(h) of RA No. 3019,” COA noted.
This is not the first time that Angeles found herself dragged to controversy. Just this March 2025, Angeles was asked to account for the cash and motorbikes donated by Chinese individuals suspected of being spies for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2022.
According to Vice Mayor Genaro Mendoza, the Tarlac City Council did not authorize Mayor Angeles to accept a P500,000 cash donation and 15 motorcycles from the Chinese nationals.
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Angeles said that they received the donations and policing equipment in good faith and without strings attached. Furthermore, the Tarlac City LGU clarified that the city did not receive P500,000, but only P100,000 was given.
Then, Mendoza said that in August 2023, Angeles requested the city council to authorize Resolution No. IX-33-486 to receive P200,000 from the “Qiaoxing Volunteer Group of the People’s Republic of China” for “various projects and programs of the city.” / MR