The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects particularly its new national headquarters and the Quezon Municipal Station in Region 3 with approved budgets of P2.7 billion.

In its 2024 audit report, the COA said the PNP National Headquarters, with a total budget of P2,586,952,000, was supposed to start in 2024 and be completed in 2027.

The proposed headquarters has four phases, with the bulk of the project in Phase 1 with a P1 billion budget, P300 million for Phase 2, P900 million for Phase 3, and P386,952,000 for Phase 4, it said.

While the PNP’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) attempted to start the bidding process, it hit snags as the post-qualification report of the single calculated bidder (SCB) was disqualified due to its failure to submit required documents, specifically on the certificate of availability of equipment, it also said.

For its Phase 1, the start of the construction of the new building was scheduled in 2024 but no successful bidding has taken place as of Dec. 31, 2024 and thus, deviated from the planned year of implementation.

"The noted deficiencies in the processing of documents and execution of the procurement process resulted in the delays of the implementation of the project which consequently affected the subsequent phases," the COA report stated.

On the construction of the Quezon Municipal Station in Region 3 for P10,551,000, the COA said its audit team found delays because of failed bidding.

It also said there is an existing structure where the municipal station should be built, and while the Quezon municipal mayor committed to demolish the existing structure, the demolition phase would inevitably affect the project timeline.

"The target completion date of the said projects will not be attained as planned, demonstrating insufficient planning and delayed execution of the procurement process for these particular projects," the audit report pointed out.