And after the former Prime Minister testified for one hour and 15 minutes, he was followed by the Financial Secretary Joe Waight who testified for one hour and ten minutes.
With that the morning session was done giving way to the day's final witness, the manager of the vehicle care unit, Ruperto Vicente. He's the one on the ground who fed the information up to the Fin. Sec. and the PM - and it turned out that many of his declarations and findings to them in writing were just plain wrong, or untrue.
That's because he classified vehicles, and furniture as unserviceable when they were, in fact, very serviceable. Here's how he 'fessed up to it:
E. Andrew Marshalleck (SC)- Chairman, Commissioner of Inquiry
"Most of them if not all of them, in fact I do believe all of them but you could correct me if I am wrong, are sold on the basis that the items were unserviceable."
Ruperto Vicente- Manager, Vehicle Care Unit
"Yes there were some errors in that Mr. Chairman. I must apologize for that. I believe we used a generic letter and failure to peruse."
E. Andrew Marsahlleck SC
"Are you aware that the Finance and Audit Reform Act authorizes sale but only through use of one or the other tender procedures?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes, listening this morning."
E. Andrew Marsahlleck SC
"And are those tender procedures ever followed?"
Ruperto Vicente
"No."
E. Andrew Marsahlleck SC
"The Prime Minister had mentioned and I am sure you listened that Mr. Hugo Patt had made an application to him for permission to buy his vehicle by way of an exception to a general policy that there would have been no such sales. You recollect that?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes."
E. Andrew Marsahlleck SC
"I noticed in the documentation that all the documents are addressed to Mr. Jovencio Perrera and Mr. Hugo Patt's name in fact appears nowhere."
Ruperto Vicente
"That is because there are times when requests are made when someone is purchasing a vehicle or an air conditioner or so. They would request that these sales be made in someone else's name. That is for our case a standard practice."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"Who is Mr. Jovencio Perrera?"
Ruperto Vicente
"I have no idea sir."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"He wouldn't happen to be the driver for Mr. Patt?"
Ruperto Vicente
"I have no idea who that person is."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"I noticed in the letter approving the sale to Mr. Herrera that the vehicle is described, well there is another letter, describing the vehicle as unserviceable and in fact goes so far as to say that the vehicle is located with the unit and is considered beyond economical repairs. And this is a 2020 Toyota Tacoma."
Ruperto Vicente
"That's an error on that sale."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"That's not true?"
Ruperto Vicente "Yes."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC "I noticed the same with the Hilux sold to Mr. Collin Griffith. It's also described as unserviceable. You can recall that one?"
Ruperto Vicente
"I recall that one yes. It's a vehicle that was not in the best working conditions."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"But it wasn't unserviceable."
Ruperto Vicente
"Not really, it could have been repaired."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"So that one again the documentation is an error?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes, we need to correct that. I'll have my office correct those."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"I noticed as well all the furniture and the ipad and the laptop and the reinforced couches and chairs, the extra large ones for the former attorney general. Those are also described as unserviceable."
Ruperto Vicente
"It's the same thing."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"Same thing? An error?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes, sir."
E. Andrew Marshalleck SC
"I flash through again, the one for the judge, is also again described as unserviceable, 28 Toyota Land Cruiser."
Ruperto Vicente
"We will correct that. We will correct those as well."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"And the one for Dr. Barnett as well?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Does that mark unserviceable as well?"
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"Yes, they all say unserviceable."
Ruperto Vicente
[laughs] "Alright."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"In terms of the one for Dr. Barnett there would have only been one bid for that car and that's Dr. Barnett's bid. No bid to compare it against. "
Ruperto Vicente
"No, no."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"The same with Judge Sosa's? The same with Michael Peyrefitte's furnitures and computer equipment? He is the only one that bid for them?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"Collin Griffith?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes sir."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"And Hugo Patt"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"So there wasn't any competitive bidding at all for any of these?"
Ruperto Vicente
"No, sir."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"These prices and sales were all approved by, you say, the Prime Minister?"
Ruperto Vicente
"Yes, the only one that would probably not mark approved would be the one for Hugo Patt."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"Well, you see the problem I have Mr. Vicente is that these sampling of files that I have hear and I have looked at, the Prime Minister has personally approved, they were all approved on the basis that these items were unserviceable and none of them were unserviceable."
Ruperto Vicente
"We agree, but since we've been following the discussion, we have said that there were discussions between the Prime Minister and the Financial Secretary and so once that comes down to me then I..."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"It's not that they didn't know it's that the documentation doesn't correctly reflect it."
