The Department of Transportation (DOTr) had wasted P28.771 million when it failed to implement the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit Line 1 Project (MMBRTP), the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its 2022 report.
MMBRTP Line 1 was planned as an 11.4-kilometer rapid transit lane from PhilCoa in Quezon City to the Manila City hall. It would have 17 stations, one terminal, and 140 buses in operation.
The total project cost was projected at P5.46 billion of which P4.61 billion would come from loan proceeds and P844 million from the government.
In 2017, the Philippine government, through the Department of Finance (DOF), entered into loan agreements (LAs) with the World Bank (WB) through International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and Clean Technology Fund (CTF) for the implementation of the MMBRTP in the aggregate amount of US$64,600,000.
In its report, COA said that DOTr's lack of budget allocation and weak capacity as the implementing agency were the reasons for the cancellation of the loan agreements.
It said that when its audit team reviewed the appropriations and allotment of the MMBRTP during the current (2022) and previous years, it was found that the project had received allotments in the aggregate amount of P839,425,000 for 2016 to 2018, of which only P9,189,574 was obligated and disbursed. This resulted in the reversion to the national treasury of the unutilized balance of P830,235,426.
Despite the inefficiencies in budget management, the COA said that the Philippine government still entered into the loan agreements, which entailed management of a far more substantial amount of funds.
"It (audit team) was informed that the change in administration in 2016 attributed to the non-utilization of allotments as several urban transport projects agreed/approved by the previous administration were put on hold to reassess their priority," the COA said.
"It was further informed that aside from the lack of funding from 2019 to 2022, the procurement of key consultants was also affected by the transfer of procurement from the DOTr Special Bids and Awards Committee to the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and by the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic," it also said.
Thus, it noted that the DOTr was not able to procure any contracts related to the MMBRTP and was not able to submit any withdrawal application from the loans.
It added that while the DOTr reached out to the WB in 2021 on restructuring and additional financing, WB said that an extension could not be justified due to lack of any implementation progress made on the project.
"WB cited the weak capacity of the implementing agency, the inefficiency of procurement management, lack of general government budget allocation and the Covid-19 as the reasons that contributed to the poor performance of the project," it pointed out in its report.
Thus, in the end, both the WB and the Philippine government agreed to cancel the full undisbursed balance for the IBRD and CTF loans amounting to a total of US$64,498,250. The cancellation became effective on June 21, 2022.
COA said the only disbursement out of the loan proceeds was the front-end fee of US$101,750 or P5,351,134.25, which was paid in March 2019.
The non-availment of the loans resulted in payments of commitment fees totaling P23,419,960.76 from 2019 to 2022. All in all, the government shelled out P28,771,095.01 for a project that did not materialize, it said.
"The non-implementation of the MMBRTP within the original implementation period resulted in the cancellation of the loans and the wastage of government funds totaling P28,771,095.01 representing front-end and commitment fees," it stressed.
COA said it has not been informed by the DOTr of the plans for MMBRTP. It then recommended that DOTs should submit to the audit commission any updated or future plan.
At the same time, COA reminded DOTr to ensure that all foreign-funded projects are implemented within the loan validity to avoid loan cancellation and wastage of government funds.