ILIGAN CITY – Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. has issued an official statement to respond to an allegation made by the Commission on Audit (COA) that the provincial government has failed in implementing 13 development projects in 2019.
According to Adiong, the provincial government had earlier entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with 21 municipalities in 2019 for the implementation of infrastructure development projects.
He clarified that, since then, the funding of these projects were already sent from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the provincial government to the municipal governments, which will be tasked to undertake the implementation of the projects.
“It’s all in their hands,” Adiong said.
He added that most of the municipal governments have already achieved 80 percent to 100 percent completion of the physical structures in the 13 projects that COA questioned.
“They have not been fully implemented because of only a few documentary and evidenciary requirements,” Adiong noted.
The governor issued the statement following a story that came out in The Manila Bulletin last August 7, which said that COA had noted “alleged failures” on the part of the provincial government to implement 13 development projects.
Adiong also said the municipal governments may not have been able to complete requirements for these projects because of the sudden emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
He also averred that the COA only gave the Lanao del Sur provincial government an unqualified opinion for the year 2019, which means the presentation of the financial report of the provincial government “is fair and has fully satisfied the requirements of the auditor”.
Nevertheless, Adiong said he has already directed the Provincial Engineer's Office to inspect the current status of these 13 projects and will render a report within the week.