SUMMARY
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The Office of the President (OP) will celebrate its 127th founding anniversary this year, and Malacañang wants to mark the occasion by giving away customized apparel.
Based on available bidding documents, Malacañang has set aside P4.4 million for the project.
The Office of the President allotted a maximum budget of P3,326,660 for the purchase of 2,000 pieces of reversible corporate jackets, and another P1,100,340 for the procurement of 2,000 pieces of anniversary shirts with embroidery.
The notices were first made available in December 2023, and the opening of bids is set on Wednesday, February 7.
Under the country’s procurement processes, companies that tender the lowest calculated bid are the ones that secure the project, which means Malacañang may still be able to purchase the apparel at a price lower than its budget ceiling of P4.4 million.
This is not the first time Malacañang is holding a public bidding for customized apparel to mark the OP’s founding anniversary.
Under the Duterte administration, the OP – marking its 122nd year back in 2019 – also approved a budget of P1.2 million for hoodie jackets.
The latest public bidding for customized apparel comes after the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) held a multi-million-peso concert to launch the Marcos administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas” (literally translated as “New Philippines”) slogan.
Bidding documents showed Malacañang spent at least P16.4 million for the single-day concert.
During that event, Marcos promised that wasteful expenditures in government will not be allowed under his presidency. – Rappler.com
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I am sure President Marcos Jr. or any of his supporters will justify this expense as not being wasteful. With 4,000 pieces of customized shirts and jackets marked Office of the President, these are “walking propaganda” and, at the same time, a printed version of “name dropping” or rather “office name dropping.” I bet ordinary government employees and lowly government officials will be awed by people who visit their offices wearing these corporate jackets and anniversary shirts. It can also facilitate corruption as a signal that the wearer is close to President Marcos Jr.