The Commission on Audit (COA) has chided the officials of Maimbung town in Sulu over the incomplete documentations of awarded contracts and payments for infrastructure projects as it lamented that the issues have been "a matter of great concern for several years already."
"Despite repeated demands and follow-ups, they still failed to properly and completely document awarded contracts and other procurement disbursements," COA said in its 2023 audit report on the municipality.
"Moreover, the required timeframe of submission was not also followed as required bid and technical documents including requirement for negotiated procurement were not completely rendered to our office," it said.
"Continued disregard of the laws and regulations would somehow affect the overall performance of the municipality as the lacking documents are vital and necessary to allow corresponding transactions in audit," it also said.
The COA warned that the transactions covered the projects "could mature into disallowance if not settled or sufficiently justified."
Given the voluminous and complex paperwork involved, COA's audit team said that the existing personnel in charge of the preparation of reports and documents are not enough to complete all the work within the required timeframe. Thus, it said, "submission is always late."
It also said that delayed or non-submission of required documents will also cause delays or non-inspection of completed projects. The delayed completion of infrastructure projects, they said, would deny the people of its intended benefits, it added.
In 2023, the COA said that Maimbung town implemented and awarded 14 contracts amounting to P41,419,178.14.
These included the restorative construction of Astanah Darul Jambangan (Phase 1) worth P12,402,893.40, the fencing and landscaping of a school zone worth P6 million, the fencing and landscaping at Maimbung Higad Elementary School worth P5 million, and the fencing and landscaping of a multi-purpose building worth P4 million, among other things.
However, the COA remarked that there were incomplete bid and technical documentation such as plans, pictures, certificate of completion and turnover, bid security, performance security, contract of agreement, official receipts, and progress billing.
It reiterated its recommendation for the municipality to exercise fiscal responsibility and be prudent in the utilization of government funds, specifically the Local Development Fund.
It also asked Maimbung to require concerned officials to immediately submit all the lacking documents and ensure that preparation is in accordance with laws and regulations to avoid disallowance of the subject transactions.
Maimbung officials had acknowledged the deficiencies and promised to submit all the lacking documents in order to avoid disallowance.