The Commission on Audit (COA) has spotted "various lapses and deficiencies" in the disbursement by the provincial government of Zambales of its more than P531.6 million funds for the procurement of food and Covid-19 medical supplies for 2021.
The COA’s audit team report stated that of the total funds allocated for the implementation of Covid-related programs, projects and activities (PPAs), only 91.99 percent or about P489.04 million was utilized by the province.
"The Audit Team acknowledges the efforts of management in providing funds to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the province and continue the delivery of basic services to affected constituents," the report stated.
"However, review and verification of the procurement and implementation of the foregoing Covid-19 related PPAs and audit financial transactions for 021 revealed several infractions," it added.
The first infraction mentioned in the report was the procurement and distribution of welfare goods worth P179.1 million. These were procured through public bidding and negotiated procurement (NP) for distribution to Covid-19 patients, front liners, and constituents.
However, the report stated that the contracts through NP were awarded mostly to private suppliers that are "considerably distant" from the province. The COA said that the bids and awards committee (BAC) failed to consider the local suppliers or farmers in the procurement of welfare goods.
As an example, the report cited the purchase of 5,000 sacks of rice worth P5.6 million from a private supplier with business address in Quezon City on May 3, 2021 instead of buying from the National Food Authority (NFA) within the locality, which has an inventory of 5,889.6 sacks of rice at that time. The NFA rice is even sold at a price of P25 per kilogram, which is lower than commercial rice that is P44.8 per kilogram, it said.
The COA’s report likewise said that the purchase was not supported with a list of affected families or households, which is a requirement under Section 4(6) of Presidential Decree No. No. 1445, the Government Auditing Code.
Moreover, the COA report stated that P304.1 million, which was used to purchase Covid-19 related goods and items, was not timely processed and prioritized by the provincial government.
"Further verification showed that the processing time lasted up to 205 days from the date of request up to the delivery and/or issuance of items considering its purpose for an emergency," the report added.
It cited as an example the requested welfare goods for Covid-19 patients on Jan. 11, 2021, which was received and issued to the Provincial Health Office (PHO) only on June 25, 2021.
The report stated that the provincial government procured drugs and medical and laboratory supplies amounting to P247.7 million for the provision of health services and responses during the pandemic. But the report stated that "some items were beyond the reasonable price" set by the DOH (Department of Health), therefore resulting in incurred additional costs of P4.4 million.