DFA told to pay P5.5M claim of IT provider

The Commission on Audit (COA) has granted a P5.5 million compensation claim filed by an information technology (IT) contractor against the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for unpaid work.

Four years after completing the upgrade of the DFA Data Center, Pronet Systems Integrated Network Solution Inc. can finally collect its pay after the COA en banc upheld the validity of its petition filed on March 2, 2021.

In its decision released the other day, the COA held that Pronet sufficiently proved the validity of its claim by submitting complete documentation, including its agreement with the DFA, Notice of Award, Certification of Satisfactory Delivery of the project, Inspection and Acceptance Report, and Certificate of Non-Payment.

“All these documents showed that Pronet delivered and completed its obligations under the agreement. As admitted by the DFA, it was not able to pay Pronet for the project because it inadvertently overlooked the deadline for the ORS of the continuing appropriations for 2019 projects,” the Commission pointed out.

Despite its efforts to facilitate release of the payment, the DFA also encountered challenges after the national government enforced a series of community quarantines when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

The supervising auditors (SA) and the Cluster Director (CD) likewise recommended the grant of the claim noting that the Data Center Rehabilitation Project underwent a proper competitive public bidding before being awarded to Pronet.

“All told, and considering further the favorable recommendations of the DFA, the SA and the CD concerned, this Commission grants the money claim in the contract amount of P5,497,160,” the COA said.