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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider COA grants P36.8-M claim for solar-powered irrigation systems

COA grants P36.8-M claim for solar-powered irrigation systems

Published Sep 16, 2025 01:48 pm
The Commission on Audit (COA) has granted the money claim of RU Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation (RUFMSC) against the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for P36.8 million as payment for the supply and installations of solar-powered irrigation systems in 2018.
RU Foundry's Maria Cecilia F. Carlos filed the money claim for payment of the completed sites in Lots 1 and 2, relative to the contract "Supply, Delivery and Installation of Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) for the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project (CRFPSP) of the DAR" in the amounts P18,836,499 and P18,952,747, respectively.
The CRFPSP is a national program that aims to support small farmers and strengthen their resilience against adverse climate by improving access to production technologies and diversifying towards climate-resilient crops.
One of the projects of the CRFPSP is the supply, delivery, and installation of SPIS to allow farmers to have access to sustainable water sources that will improve the quality and quantity of their crops.
RUFMSC won the award for Lots 1, 2, and 4 on Dec. 21, 2018. Throughout the course of the contract, RUFMSC encountered several difficulties brought about by the El Nino phenomenon as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, so it sought for several extensions from the DAR.
But after all the 44 sites in Lots 1 and 2 were completed by RUFMSC, it sought billings from the DAR but no payment has yet been made.
It then filed a Petition for Money Claim before the COA. The DAR sought the denial of the claim as it alleged that the company failed to complete the supply, delivery, and installation of SPIS in the awarded lots.
When COA’s audit team checked, it found that RUFMSC supplied, delivered, and installed the SPIS projects in compliance with the terms and conditions of the contracts, except that there were various extensions requested.
In its decision, the COA said that RUFMSC indeed delivered the output required under the contracts with the DAR. However, it is liable for liquidated damages which should be deducted from its claims.
Thus, the COA granted RUFMSC's money claim in the amounts P18,365,586.52 and P18,478,928.32 or a total of P36,844,514.84 "less mandatory deductions, subject to the availability of funds and the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations."
The deductions for liquidated damages amounted to P470,912.48 and P473,818.68 from the original claim of RUFMSC or a total of P944,731.16, the COA said.
The nine-page ruling was signed by Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba and Commissioners Roland Cafe Pondoc and Mario G. Lipana.
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