COA finds P3.9-B unused AFP fund, P1.3-B undelivered PNP combat equipment in 2017

The Commission on Audit has found that P3.859 billion of military funds for 2017 — mostly meant for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines — remained unutilized.

In its annual audit report on the AFP, the COA said 78.43 percent or P3.027 billion of the 3.859 billion unutilized funds was for the AFP's modernization, while 19.44 percent or P750 million is for calamity, and 1.81 percent or P69.87 million is for pension.

The non-utilization of the multi-billion-peso fund, the COA said, "hinders the attainment of the goals of the Agency, and its accomplishment is not within the targeted budget for programs/activities."

The COA said it has already recommended and the AFP has  agreed that programs, projects and activities to be undertaken must be properly planned to ensure the attainment of the goals of the AFP.

The AFP also agreed that its accomplishment must be within the targeted budget for programs/activities, the COA said.

Undelivered items

In a separate report, the COA said the Philippine National Police has yet to receive the P1.347 billion worth of mobility and combat equipment it had bought two years ago, the Commission on Audit said in its report.

In its report, the COA found out that various mobility and combat asset requirements procured from the Philippine International Trading Corporation remained undelivered as of December 31, 2017, and have been outstanding for more than two years.

The COA noted since the fund transfers in 2016, none of the required items have been delivered and the memorandum of agreement did not provide a timeline of delivery, which the agency found "disadvantageous" to the PNP.

The COA said the combat assets "could have greatly contributed to the capability of the police force to effectively

and efficiently accomplish its mandate and would have benefited PNP personnel had the items been delivered in the year where the Agency Procurement Requests (APRs) were issued to the PITC."

The undelivered items, the COA recommended, should be delivered within the next six months or else, the PITC should return the amount advanced to the company so it could be returned to the national treasury.

‘Disadvantageous’ vehicles

The COA also found out that purchase of P1.893 billion worth of patrol vehicles from Mahindra Enforcer and Mahindra Scorpio in 2015 became "disadvantageous" the PNP due to various problems that plagued the vehicles.

The COA interviewed police officers using the vehicles and found out that 57.20 percent or more than half of them were unsatisfied  with the overall performance of the Mahindra vehicles.

The most common complaint about the vehicles was their high fuel consumption, which contradicts the specifications set by the National Police Commission for them to be fuel-efficient.

The COA blamed the problem on the PNP's failure to conduct an "operational needs assessment" before buying the vehicles. This, the COA said, "pushed back the full attainment of the objective of the Capability Enhancement Program (CEP) of the PNP."

The COA said the non-evaluation of the actual performance of the initial 1,656 Mahindra vehicles bought before buying additional units resulted in 206 units not being effectively utilized out of the total 2,054 units purchased.

Among the problems encountered with the vehicles were the frequent breakdowns, a poor after-sales services and a limited availability of spare parts that "impacted on its vision of a more capable, effective and credible police force." — MDM, GMA News