COA lauds Iloilo town for high utilization of disaster funds
The Commission on Audit (COA) has lauded the town of Pavia in Iloilo for registering a "high utilization rate of 90 percent" of its total available disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) funds and, thus, strengthened the municipality's capability in mitigating disasters.
In its 2023 annual audit report, the COA said that Pavia town was able to utilize P11.665 million out of the P12.950 million mitigation funds. The money was used to to purchase equipment for communications, firefighting, flood rescue, and water supply, among other things.
It also said the municipality bought chemical and filtering supplies, welfare goods, and medical and laboratory supplies. At the same time, it said that the mitigation fund was used for training, insurance, buildings, and other structures.
Thus, the COA said, the town was able to fulfill the objectives of Republic Act No. 10121, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, which seeks to enhance and strengthen local government units' (LGUs) capabilities in mitigating, responding to, and recovering from the impact of disasters.
It acknowledged the "hard work" of the men and women of the Pavia Emergency Responders (PAVERS) and "steadfast leadership" of the municipal DRRM Officer. "The improved facilities and enhanced capabilities of the LGU are likewise noted and commended," the audit report stated.
The only project that was delayed in Pavia town was its Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS). The CBMS is an organized way of collecting household-level information at the local level which would be used in local-level planning and program implementation.
Earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had issued Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2022-001 dated May 11, 2022 prescribing the guidelines of the CBMS for the targeted nationwide rollout.