COA hits DA for delays in FMRs worth P3.2B

The Commission on Audit (COA) has found the Department of Agriculture (DA) liable over the delays in implementing farm-to-market road (FMR) projects valued at P3.2 billion, supposedly because of poor planning and monitoring.
 
In a 2014 annual audit report, recently released, the commission noted the department received P8.294 billion in allocations for 2014 and 2013 for the repair and construction of 2,773 FMR projects in “designated key production areas...” The roads are 1,385.716 kilometers (kms) in length.

The fund was directly downloaded to the DA’s Regional Field Units (RFUs) that are supposed to implement the Farm-to-Market Road Development Program (FMRDP), the commission noted.

However, the Agriculture Department on Friday claimed it had nothing to do with the implementation of the FMR projects in the last two years.

The implementation of FMRs were under the Department of Public Works and highways (DPWH), DA Spokesperson and Undersecretary for Field Operations Emerson U. Palad told GMA News Online.

"Implementation of 2014 and 2015 FMRs are with DPWH, I think," he said and proceeded to explain the Agriculture Department's role in the scheme of things.

"Fund source ang DA, but there are justifications for the delay, if any," he said.

Palad declined to elaborate on what the justifications were. Instead, he pointed at the DPWH. "Better to ask DPWH din.

"I'll write memo for them to comment on the findings," he said.

The DA is now in the process of revisiting all FMRs implemented since 2010, he added.

99% obligated funds

According to the COA, 99 percent or P8.212 billion was obligated or committed as of December 31, 2014. The unobligated amount of P81.464 million should revert to the DA’s General Fund and “... no longer be utilized for the implementation of FMR project.”
 
Despite 99 percent commitment of the money, the commission revealed that only 67 percent or P5.056 billion equivalent to 2,016 FMRs were completed as of December 31, 2014. It said the completed projects measure 924.781 kms compared to the program’s 1,385.716-km target.
 
The remaining 33 percent or 757 FRMs, measuring 460.935 kms, with the aggregate cost of P3.238 billion “were still ongoing or not yet started” as of end-2014, the COA said.
 
“The Agency’s mandate of empowering the agriculture and fisheries sector by providing transport facilities for the farmers and fisherfolk thru the repair/rehabilitation and construction of farm-to-market roads was not fully achieved due to the delayed completion and implementation of FMR Projects with an aggregate allocation of P3.2 billion,” the report read.
 
A total of 469 FMRs equivalent to 332.051 kms were still under construction as of December 31, 2014 while the construction of 288 FMRs equivalent to 128.884 kms have yet to start, according to the commission.
 
Of the 288 FMR projects, the COA noted:

• 156 were under procurement or fund transfer stage

• 27 were with the respective MOAs being prepared of submitted

• 26 were undegoing change of site/realignment/final listing approval

• 21 were experiencing delayed submission of required documents

• 9 were facing right of way issues

• 8 were suspended/not implemented for unknown reasons

• 6 were with unliquidated previous financial transactions

The status of 35 projects was not given by the DA.
 
“As a result of the delay and non-implementation of the projects, the objective of the program to provide efficient transport facilities to farmer beneficiaries for their products was not fully attained as of year-end,” the report read.
 
Poor planning
 
In the case of the DA-Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), all nine FMR projects amounting to P10 million “were constructed in locations without agriculture and fisheries production sites, coastal landing points and post-harvest facilities linking to the market and arterial roads and highways,” the commission noted.
 
The roads were supposedly built in residential areas “where residents are neither agrarian reform beneficiaries nor small farmers/fisherfolk,” the commission said.
 
The general guidelines for the Farm-to-Market Road Development Program (FMRDP) placed the burden of responsibility upon the DA to evaluate and validate each FMR project using the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standards (PAES) and taking into account the number of farmers and fisherfolk and their families that stand to benefit from the roads.

The “amount, kind and importance of agriculture and fisheries products produced in the area” must also be studied, the commission said.
 
“Had the DA-CAR properly identified and validated the proposed FMRs, the above deficiencies could have been prevented and implemented instead in other barangays in need of the FMRs,” the report read.
 
“Interview disclosed that DA-CAR discontinued the preparation of an FMR Network Plan due to various political interventions in the funding of projects,” the commission said.

It revealed that based on the audit team’s review of the agreement among the DA-CAR, Baguio City District Engineering Office (BCDEO) and the then congressman, it was the politician who should identify and prioritize the FMRs to be constructed, rehabilitated or improved. The report did not name the congressman.

The agreement violated Section 52 of Republic Act 8435 or the Agricultural and Fishery Modernization Act of 1997, which states that “the DA shall coordinate with the LGUs and the resident-farmers and fisherfolk in order to identify priority locations of farm-to-market roads.”

Inaccurate status reports

The commission also found several inaccuracies on the DA’s status reports on FMR projects.

It claimed that based on the audit team’s site validation, the FMR projects in the following areas were ongoing as of end-December 2014 but the DA reported the roads were 100 percent complete.

• Sibalom, Antique – P1 million

• Guimbal, Iloilo – P30 million

• San Joaquin, Iloilo – P15 million

• Tubungan, Iloilo – P50 million

The DA reported the San Isidro to Manahub FMR in Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte as 100 percent complete, but the P9-million project was actually paved but with an unfinished shoulder, the commission claimed.

Meanwhile, the P2-Anas FMR project in Barangay Matin-aoin Burgos, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte was reported as 45-percent complete but was found to have “no physical accomplishment per validation,” according to the commission. The FMR has a project cost of P10 million.

If the DA had hired enough third party agencies to monitor projects implementation, such inaccuracies and delays could have been avoided, the COA noted.

The government also allocated a separate fund of P150 million for the monitoring and evaluation of FMR projects in 2014, the commission pointed out.

Section 7 of Republic Act 10633 or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2014 cited that the P150 million “... shall be appropriated for the monitoring and evaluation of FMR projects which shall be used exclusively for the hiring of third party agencies, entities or organizations to monitor compliance with the construction specifications and project schedule, and evaluate the quality of FMRs implemented.”

Of allocations for project monitoring, 58 percent or P87.670 million was obligated as of end-December 2014. But only P623,404 or 0.7 percent was actually used to pay for consultants, the commission noted.

The commission claimed the delays in hiring consultants "... jeopardized the assurance of project implementation in accordance with the approved Program of Works and other specifications and schedules.”

The Agriculture Department should institute corrective measures and impose sanctions against the regional officials responsible for the FMR that remain incomplete beyond the timeframe under the agreement, the commission added. – with Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News

• Sibalom, Antique – P1 million

• Guimbal, Iloilo – P30 million

• San Joaquin, Iloilo – P15 million

• Tubungan, Iloilo – P50 million

The DA reported the San Isidro to Manahub FMR in Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte as 100 percent complete, but the P9-million project was actually paved but with an unfinished shoulder, the commission claimed.

Meanwhile, the P2-Anas FMR project in Barangay Matin-aoin Burgos, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte was reported as 45-percent complete but was found to have “no physical accomplishment per validation,” according to the commission. The FMR has a project cost of P10 million.
 
If the DA had hired enough third party agencies to monitor projects implementation, such inaccuracies and delays could have been avoided, the COA noted.
 
The government also allocated a separate fund of P150 million for the monitoring and evaluation of FMR projects in 2014, the commission pointed out.

Fund for monitoring
 
Section 7 of Republic Act 10633 or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2014 cited that the P150 million “... shall be appropriated for the monitoring and evaluation of FMR projects which shall be used exclusively for the hiring of third party agencies, entities or organizations to monitor compliance with the construction specifications and project schedule, and evaluate the quality of FMRs implemented.”
 
Of the allocations for project monitoring, 58 percent or P87.670 million was obligated as of end-December 2014. But only P623,404 or 0.7 percent was actually used to pay for consultants, the commission noted.
 
The commission claimed the delays in hiring consultants "... jeopardized the assurance of project implementation in accordance with the approved Program of Works and other specifications and schedules.”
 
The Agriculture Department should institute corrective measures and impose sanctions against the regional officials responsible for the FMR that remain incomplete beyond the timeframe under the agreement, the commission added. – with Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News