The provincial government of Leyte "misused" P1.287 million of its Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF) for catering services and other unrelated activities in 2023, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
In its 2023 annual audit report, COA said disbursements totalling P1,287,596 "were deemed to be not within the context of the four thematic areas on disaster risk reduction and management activities."
It said that the four areas for disaster risk reduction and management are disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster rehabilitation and recovery.
It noted that the province appropriated P179,679,293.81 or five percent of its estimated revenue from regular sources for its LDRRMF. This is an addition to the P178,459,178.28 in the Special Trust Fund (STF) which was aggregated from previous years, making the total LDRRMF P358,138,472.09.
However, COA said its audit team discovered that disbursements totalling P1,287,596 were charged to the LDRRMF even if these were not deemed to be within the four thematic areas of disaster risk reduction and management.
It said the province spent P380,428 and P383,918 on the purchase of various supplies and materials for the Protective Shelter for High-Value Vegetable Techno Demo. However, it also said that various construction supplies and materials distributed to beneficiaries or locations were not identified.
Leyte also spent P55,500 payment for catering services and lunch including venue rental, sound system, and resort facilities in Cariaga, Leyte during the conduct of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) Organic Farming Orientation Seminar, it said.
A total of P31,500 was used as payment for catering services for regular area coordinators' quarterly meeting at Villava, Leyte and another P30,000 for catering services during the culmination activity for on-the-job training (OJT) interns from the Visayas State University Alang-alang Campus, it also said.
Also, it said, P406,250 was used as payment for various fertilizers and seeds for Season Long Training of High-Value Crops province-wide.
Two of the expenditures were implemented by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) -- the purchase of supplies for Protective Shelter for High-Value Techno Demo. These supplies included galvanized iron pipes, hardiflex board, concrete wall nails, and clamps, it said.
But since the location and beneficiaries of the items distributed were not identified, COA said it was unclear whether the main purpose of the rehabilitation and recovery activity for disaster-affected communities was indeed complied with.
The same can be said for the purchase of fertilizers and seeds. Since the farmers' associations that received the items were not clearly identified, it cannot be determined if they came from locations that suffered losses in livelihood because of a natural calamity or disaster, it said.
As for the catering expenses, COA said there was no clear indication whether the activities undertaken were related to the thematic areas which will justify charges against the LDRRMF. It also said that these expenses should have been chalked up to ordinary operational expenses chargeable against the regular budget of the OPA.
"The utilization of the LDRRMF for expenditures that are outside the four thematic areas of disaster risk reduction and management defeated the purpose for the creation and appropriation of the fund," COA stressed.
"Thus, the purpose for which the component of the fund was intended for -- to implement programs, projects, and activities related to disaster risk reduction and management -- was not complied with," it pointed out.