MANILA – The Department of Public Works and Highways has failed to effectively manage its funds, the Commission on Audit said, noting the “low physical delivery of target project and activities.”
In its 2017 annual audit report, the COA flagged the DPWH for spending only 34 percent of its P662.8-billion budget last year and disbursing only P222.7 billion of the P610.9-billion obligated funds.
“This indicates that the [agency] was not able to effectively manage the increasing amount of funds entrusted to the agency due to low physical delivery of target project and activities,” the COA said.
The COA blamed the low budget disbursement of the DPWH for the agency’s more than 3,000 delayed or non-implemented infrastructure projects worth around P73.4 billion.
According to the COA, 2,334 Public Works projects worth P62.6 billion were not completed last year; 135 projects worth P6.1 billion were suspended; 15 projects worth P2.1 billion were terminated; and 815 projects worth P2.6 billion were not implemented.
Among the causes for these, the commission noted, were delayed project site approval, late or non-issuance of permits from concerned agencies, right-of-way issues, late release of funds, unworkable weather conditions, and insufficiency of equipment.
“These problems were not new and should not have recurred had the DPWH followed their previous recommendations to conduct detailed engineering and strict project monitoring and coordination,” the COA said./PN
