ILOILO CITY – The Commission on Audit found mismanagement in the water district of Dueñas town, Iloilo province.
A report said the government-owned Dueñas Water District was found to have irregularity in its fiscal operations – zero enforcement of collecting overdue accounts that nearly amounted to P3 million in 2021 and 2022.
There was also a decrease in income under General Manager Edgar Lamera from P3.15 million in 2021 to P3.08 million in 2022; decrease of P71,303 in income despite the increase in water concessionaires from 1,086 concessionaires in 2021 to 1,108 in 2022; decrease of P1.32 million in assets from P11.33 million in 2021 to P10.04 million in 2022, and increase in DWD liabilities by P1.96 million from P18.27 million to P20.23 million in 2022.
The COA also found that DWD had unpaid penalties for a loan from the Local Water Utilities Administration that amounted to almost P300,000 in 2022.
It said that DWD “practiced granting of cash advances without specific legal purpose, sufficient documentation, and proper accounting” that resulted in “government funds have been exposed to risk of abuse or misuse.”
The DWD has a disallowance of more than P162,000, the COA said.
The report was sent to key national government agencies and key offices of the Marcos administration.