Department of Health (DOH)

 COA said that it found deficiencies in the use by the DOH of P67.32 billion of its budget intended
for COVID response.
 The COA audit report said deficiencies contributed to challenges and missed opportunities by
the DOH amid a national emergency. The findings, the COA added, “cast doubts on the
regularity of related transactions.”
 Among other findings, COA found irregularities in the acquisition process and lack of
documentation in several contracts. At least P66.28 million was flagged because of
noncompliance with laws and rules on spending.
 COA also called out the DOH for P95 million in expired or expiring medicines.
 In reply, the DOH said the P67.32 billion is all accounted for and spent on medical kits and
salaries for health care workers.
 “The DOH acknowledges the findings concerning these funds, and is currently addressing the
said compliance issues and deficiencies,” the DOH said.
 “We take our COA findings very seriously and have been working to further improve our
processes and controls so that we can serve the public most effectively,” it added.

Here are the list of specific regions where more irregularities happened:

Irregular salaries
Amount not utilized, not sufficiently documented: P238.6 million
Regions: Ilocos Region, Mimaropa

According to the COA report, around P238.6 million worth of salaries were not utilized or not supported
by complete documentation.

This category comprises the bulk, at 43.2%, of the items marked “irregular” in the report. These irregular
salaries were recorded in three hospitals: the Region 1 Medical Center in Ilocos, and the Ospital ng
Palawan and the Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital in Mimaropa.

Irregular payments of hazard pay, special risk allowance

Amount spent: P58.6 million
Regions: Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas,
Northern Mindanao, Davao Region

More than P58 million was spent against policy when the amount was released as hazard pay and
special risk allowance to those who did not physically report to the office, were “not qualified” as public
health workers, or during GCQ or MGCQ.

Irregular meals and accommodation

Amount: P110.3 million
Regions: Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Bicol, Western Visayas

P77.7 million in meals and accommodation benefits were given in cash in the Western Visayas
Sanitarium (WVS) and the Western Visayas Medical Center, which went against DOH Administrative
Order 2020-054. This AO serves as the legal basis for providing this kind of benefit to health workers.

Meanwhile, in the Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatric Medical Center, P142,500 worth of meals
were “improperly provided” before the effectivity date listed in the AO.

There was a similar case in Metro Manila when around P11.6 million was paid to health workers,
without specific legal basis, from April to June 2020.

Catering for virtual meetings

Amount: P1.08 million
Region: Western Visayas
This is one of the two entries marked as “unnecessary” expenses of the DOH. According to the report,
the DOH Center for Health Development in Western Visayas spent more than P1 million pesos for
catering in virtual meetings.

The report called the catering “not essential” for the activities, since participants were “in their
respective work stations and performed their usual functions.”

‘Personal’ expenses
Amount: P141,269.70
Region: Cagayan Valley

The Cagayan Valley Medical Center spent more than P141,000 in expenses considered “personal in
nature” and were charged against the hospital’s petty cash fund.

The report found that this violated Sections 2 and 4 of the national auditing code, or Presidential Decree
1445.

Medical equipment procured above retail price

Amount: P984,500
Region: Cordillera Administrative Region

The cost of three unnamed medical supplies procured by the Far North Luzon General Hospital
exceeded the maximum suggested retail prices prescribed by the DOH. The total price variance almost
reached P1 million.

Undelivered equipment
Amount: P39,400
Region: Western Visayas

The WVS spent almost P40,000 for eight undelivered units of electric needle burners and syringe
destroyers, which were supposed to come from Winegard Marketing.

Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)

 COA said that CHEd obligated only P59.97 billion in 2020–82.34 percent of its P72.83 billion
allotment—because of low utilization rates.
 State auditors also said out of P3.3 billion received by CHEd from Bayanihan 1, only P1.3 billion
was obligated in 2020.
 The P3.3 billion was for the Smart Campus Development program for state universities and
colleges where subsidies are earmarked for a program called Bayanihan 2 for Higher Education
Tulong.
 In its reply, CHEd shouted at COA for being “inaccurate” and “misleading.” It said the use of
funds from Bayanihan 2 had been extended to June 30, 2021.
 CHEd said upon the expiration of Bayanihan 2, P297,540 of funds for subsidy had been released
and benefited 60,782 students.
 For the online learning budget, CHEd said it obligated P2.10 billion and had disbursed P2.96
billion which resulted in “99 percent utilization rate.”

Department of Education (DepEd)

 COA said DepEd received a total of P531.73 billion in 2020 – P511.57 billion total obligations
were incurred, leaving a balance of P20.16 billion as of the end of last year.
 COA said that it observed “unresolved variances and huge discrepancies” of P40.89 billion in
accounting records and supporting documents which affected the reliability of DepEd financial
statements.
 The COA audit report said it found lapses in the use of P3.22 billion of DepEd funds as of Dec. 31,
2020.
Among these are:
 Delay in the release to regional offices and school divisions of some P1.39 billion
  Only P915.63 million was released from P2.23 billion obligated for six regional offices
 29 million was not used by seven regional offices
 Flawed, incomplete, delayed production and delivery of learning modules

 The COA audit report also said it could not ascertain and doubted P4 billion in disbursements
because of lack of supporting documents, among other reasons.
 In its reply, the DepEd said it wants to “emphasize that none of the initial findings pertained to
corruption, malversation of public funds, negligence or betrayal of public trust.”
 “The nature of the observation issued by the commission is a way for the audited agency to
rectify deficiencies and improve the management of its budget through the former’s
recommendation,” the DepEd added.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)

 The DILG was called out by the COA for P3.63 billion in “unliquidated fund transfers” to several
government offices, local governments, and non-government organizations.
 Unliquidated funds, according to the COA audit report, were because of failure to submit
liquidation reports by implementing agencies and submission of fund transfer reports without
supporting documents.
 The COA report noted that the central office of DILG had P372.45 million unliquidated funds
while P56.43 million and P4.51 million were transferred to Procurement Service-Department of
Budget and Management and the Department of Public Works and Highways last year despite
outstanding balances and the prior submission of liquidation documents.
 The DILG, in its reply, said that of the P3.63 billion identified by COA, P544 million was already
“liquidated by the implementing agencies as of June 30, 2021 and more liquidation reports from
implementing agencies are being submitted to COA as they arrive.”
 “We wish to emphasize that the COA has no findings that these funds were misused in any way
and that the findings merely relate to the non-submission of liquidation reports or incomplete
documentation,” said the DILG.
 The DILG added that regarding fund transfers to LGUs, the department is now in the process of
locating and retrieving documents from the concerned LGUs for submission to the COA.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

 DOLE was flagged by COA for the “insufficient internal control measures” in granting aid to
workers impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis. It said that it led to excessive payments, denied
claims and unclaimed cash aid in money remittance centers.
 In the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, DOLE was given funds for its several programs: COVID-19
Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating
Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) #Barangay ko, Bahay ko, and Abot-Kamay ang
Pagtulong (AKAP).
 DOLE said that it used P7.27 billion of its P7.31 billion budget for the three assistance programs,
but COA said that it observed several deficiencies, such as P1.023 million in multiple payments
of cash aid.
 In a statement, the DOLE said it adheres to government regulations in using public funds, saying
that this can be proven by consecutive “unqualified” audit opinion given by COA for 2019 and
2020.
 Regarding the P1.57 billion in unliquidated cash advances that was called out by COA, the DOLE
said that 62 percent—or P974.51 million— pertains to the central office and that as of July 31,
2021, it was reduced to P216.30 million or a settlement rate of 78 percent.
 “The issues on the alleged excessive payments, denied claims and unclaimed assistance were
already addressed initially by the DOLE by way of management comments,” it said.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

 DENR’s handling of confiscated forest products resulted in piling up of P46.56 million in seized
forest products and “undetermined losses to the government.”
 The COA audit report said that the improper handling and custody of seized assets expose the
forest products to the risk of loss because of custodial lapses while awaiting final disposition.
 It also noted that confiscated equipment worth P56.80 million was left idle because of lack of a
disposition plan which resulted in wasted resources.
  However, the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau said that it should not be blamed for the
“poor handling” of confiscated forest products, asserting that those should be turned over to
the DepEd.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

 COA said DFA was not able to maximize the use of the cash allocation that it received for 2020
worth P21.06 billion which resulted in the return of P8.29 billion, or 39.39 percent, to the
Treasury.
 DFA was likewise called out for failure to reconcile ledgers of accounts containing P350.76
million.
 The DFA, in reply to COA, said it agreed with recommendations to strengthen its cash
programming and management systems. It also agreed to a review and to revisit its targets to
match a practical budget. The DFA also agreed to closely monitor implementation of all its
programs.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

 In its report, COA called out the DSWD because its P780.71 million budget for cash assistance
was not used, affecting 139,300 qualified Filipino beneficiaries. COA said that the department
had “deficiencies” worth P5.46 billion.
 COA stated that the fund was not utilized because of “insufficient validation process”, especially
in DSWD’s regional offices in Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and the Cordillera
Administrative Region.
 COA also noted that DSWD’s offices in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region,
Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas had unliquidated Social Amelioration Program fund
transfers worth P4.36 billion.
 In reply to COA, the DSWD agreed to coordinate and submit reports on time to accounting units,
support recording of all transactions and conduct regular book reconciliation in accordance with
accounting rules.

Department of Transportation (DOTr)

 COA said the DOTR had P2.16 billion worth of undelivered license plates from 2014 to 2020.
 The audit agency also called out the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for
completing only 16 out of 86 airport projects, worth P9.88 billion, from 2016 to 2018.
 However, CAAP said it was able to “effectively implement 55.69 percent or 46 of 83 identified
airport projects with an aggregate cost worth P4.64 billion for the initial implementation of the
projects covered for 2015 to 2018 with a programmed amount worth P9.90 billion.”
 In a statement “to set the record straight,” the DOTR said the license plate delay was from a
contract signed in 2014 yet during the Aquino administration.
 In 2015, the DOTr said, the payment to the supplier of the license plates was “disallowed by
COA” which contributed to the delay in deliveries.
 “Due to the COA disallowance, the payment to the supplier had to be suspended, which led to
the stoppage of the production and delivery of the license plates from the LTO,” the DOTr said.
 On top of the COA disallowance, the Supreme Court also issued a TRO against the distribution of
the license plates “following a scrutiny by several lawmakers.”
 “When the Duterte administration took over in 2016, the government was confronted with the
production and distribution backlog of millions of license plates,” the DOTr added.

Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)

 The LTFRB was called out by COA for using only 1.07 percent, or P59 million of its P5.58 billion
budget, for a program to help public utility drivers impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis
through the Service Contracting Program.
 COA pointed out that only over 29,800 drivers—or 49.79 percent of the 60,000 targeted driver
beneficiaries—were registered in the program as of Dec. 31, 2020.
 However, the LTFRB said that as of June 30, 2021, the day the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act
expired, the office had already released 26.55 percent of the funds for the Service Contracting
Program.

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)

  The COA noted that the PCSO, even without a contract, paid P154.21 million to the People’s
Television Network, Inc. for airtime and production of lottery draws which, COA said, was
contrary to provisions on agency-to-agency procurement under the Government Procurement
Reform Act.
 The PCSO explained that payments made to the People’s Television Network Inc. were based on
a board resolution in 2020 “which approved the automatic renewal” of previous monthly
payments.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)

 The PCOO, led by Martin Andanar, was called out by the COA for “massive” and “unrestricted”
hiring of 375 contractual workers which led to “unnecessary spending” worth P71 million.
 In an interview with ANC, PCOO Undersecretary Kris Ablan confirmed the hiring of the
contractual workers but denied they were employed as political “trolls” for the Duterte
administration.