The Philippine National Police (PNP) has utilized only about 12 percent of the national government funding of P722.95 million it received last year for anti-insurgency programs as member of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
In the 2020 PNP Annual Audit Report that the Commission on Audit (COA) released the other day, the low utilization rate of the total P1.084 billion for the police force’s anti-insurgency programs under the NTF-ELCAC was easily recognized.
This could give several lawmakers a stronger reason to support their call to defund the NTF-ELCAC although state auditors did not comment on the significant amount of unspent funds for the anti-insurgency program.
For the audit year examined by COA, it was disclosed that the PNP had an obligated amount of P240,802,722.97 by the end of 2020 but only P86,568,860.17 or 35.95 percent was actually spent.
The P86.56 million expenditure represented just 12 percent of the P722.95 million PNP received for its NTF-ELCAC anti-insurgency program for 2020.
Among the PNP units, the National Headquarters and Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) spent the least as they left P58,.6 million and P40 million unspent. Actually, PRO-BAR did not spend a single centavo of the P40 million it received for the NTF-ELCAC funding.
Police Regioinal Offices 6, 12 and 13 registered a 100 percent utilization rate of the P40 million both PNP units received, audit records showed.
In its audit of the NTF-ELCAC funds, the COA questioned PRO 5 for spending P6.667 million in procuring “goods through shopping” but failing to support the transactions with pertinent documents required under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act.
“On the other hand, End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) funds received by PRO BAR amounting to P40 million intended for its purpose were not obligated due to non-preparation of project activities or estimated expenses indicating the project objective and expected output cause by time constraint and late release of fund,” state auditors reported.