COA flags 17 agencies over delayed, incomplete projects worth P1.44T

The Commission on Audit (COA) on Thursday flagged 17 government agencies over infrastructure projects amounting to P1.44 trillion that were delayed or not completed at all.

In its annual financial report, the state auditors said the projects were either “not executed in accordance with the plan, with noted deficiencies, not completed on time, [or were] not completed at all,” which may result in waste of government funds or delayed enjoyment of project benefits.

According to COA, this may be due to the abandonment by the contractor, inefficiency in the monitoring of project implementation, poor planning or workmanship, and lack of coordination with local governments and other agencies.

Of the P1.44 trillion, P1.3 trillion were for 15 foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation's Office of the Secretary.

The COA said various issues resulted in the extension of the projects as well as possible changes in total project costs and slippages or low to no actual physical accomplishments.

“The overall causes of delays in the project implementation also resulted in the incurrence and payment of additional commitment fees for the seven FAPs amounting to P158.224 million in CY 2020,” COA said.

'Not due to delays'

In response, DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran said the commitment fees (CF) in the department's loans for its foreign-assisted projects were not necessarily due to project implementation delays.

“Commitment Fees in Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loans are not necessarily due to project implementation delays, and CF will be incurred even if a project is on schedule,” Libiran said in a statement.

She added that the total loan amount needed for a project is not made effective all at once to optimize financing costs and reduce CF.

Further, she said the FAP projects flagged by COA have been delayed for decades and only progressed during the Duterte administration.

“For decades, the government was not able to raise financing for these decades-delayed and long-needed projects,” Libiran said.

“Only the Duterte Administration was able to earn the trust and confidence of its development partners to finance and make these decades-long dreamed of projects a reality,” she added.

Meanwhile, the commission further noted that projects of 12 state universities and colleges amounting to P1.1 billion were also not executed according to plan, were delayed, or were not completed at all.

Senators react

Senator Panfilo Lacson urged the concerned government agencies to "give utmost importance and attention" to COA reports "if we intend to be serious in stamping out corruption in the country."

In a statement, Lacson, who is running for president in the 2022 elections, specifically mentioned government prosecutors from the Ombudsman or Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

"[T]he audit reports provide very good leads in identifying misuse and abuse of public funds and pursuing cases against erring public officials as well as their cohorts in the private sector—including contractors and suppliers," Lacson said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, accused the government of criminal neglect over the COA-reported delayed, abandoned and idle infrastructure projects.

“This is sheer delinquency and criminal neglect. What a total waste of public funds,” Drilon said in a separate statement.

“We have P1.44 trillion funds for various infrastructures sitting somewhere while thousands of families have no homes and food this Christmas. We have these mammoth funds for projects that are stalled for years while the government is saying it is scrimping on funds to provide immediate aid to typhoon-affected cities, municipalities and provinces,” he said.

Drilon, a former executive and justice secretary, said the agencies responsible for stalled projects may face administrative and criminal complaints.

“They should be held responsible. The officials responsible should be charged for causing injury to the public because of their reckless imprudence,” he said. —KBK/BM, GMA News