Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON AUDIT
_________ Government Sector
Water District Audit Sector

AOM No. ______________

Date : _________________

AUDIT OBSERVATION MEMORANDUM

_____________________
_____________________

ATTENTION: ____________________
GAD Focal Point

We have reviewed and evaluated the Gender and Development (GAD) Plan and Budget,
Accomplishment Report and the Agency’s implementation of the pertinent provisions of
Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as Magna Carta of Women (MCW), and other related
laws and issuances for the Calendar Year 2021, and observed the following deficiencies:

1. The ________ did not incorporate GAD perspective in its policies, programs,
activities and projects due to lack of awareness on GAD regulations, thus the GAD
Focal Point System (GFPS) was not institutionalized, sex disaggregated database was
not established and the CY 2020 GAD Plan and Budget (GPB) and Accomplishment
Report (AR) were neither prepared nor submitted to LWUA for review pursuant to
Joint Circular (JC) No. 2012-01 of the Philippine Commission of Women (PCW),
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), Executive Order (E.O.) No. 273, and PCW Memorandum
Circular (MC) Nos. 2015-03 and 2016-06.

1.1. PCW-NEDA-DBM JC No. 2012-01 prescribes the Guidelines for the Preparation of
Annual GPB and AR to Implement the Magna Carta of Women. Particularly, it states the
following pertinent provisions:

2. POLICY GUIDELINES
xxx

2.2 Executive Order (EO) No. 273 (Approving and Adopting the
Philippine Plan Gender-Responsive Development [PPGD 1995-2025])
mandates agencies to incorporate and reflect GAD concerns in their
agency performance commitment contracts, annual budget proposals,
and work and financial plans.

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 2.3 Pursuant to the MCW and the General Appropriations Act (GAA), all
government departments, including their attached agencies, offices,
bureaus, state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned
and controlled corporations (GOCCs), local government units (LGUs)
and other government instrumentalities shall formulate their annual
GPBs within the context of their mandates to mainstream gender
perspectives in their policies, programs and projects. GAD Planning
shall be integrated in the regular activities of the agencies, the cost of
implementation of which shall be at least five percent (5%) of their
total budgets. The computation and utilization shall be implemented in
accordance with the specific guidelines provided therein.

xxx

3.0 GENERAL GUIDELINES IN GAD PLANNING AND

BUDGETTING
xxx

3.5 Agency GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) shall take the lead in
mainstreaming gender in agency PAPs. As such they shall coordinate
the preparation of the agency GPB and the GAD AR, monitor its
implementation and report on its results. In the process, they shall
provide technical assistance to offices or units within their agency on
gender mainstreaming. To enable them to perform their roles, it is
important that GFPS members are provided with the required gender
capacity, such as the application of gender analysis tools.

1.2. Likewise, Sections 7 and 8 of the above-cited JC requires the submission of annual
GPBs and GAD ARs to the respective line departments or central offices for review
before being submitted to the PCW for final review and endorsement to the DBM.

1.3. For water districts, PCW MC No 2015-03 dated May 19, 2015, sets the LWUA as the
preliminary reviewer of water district GPBs and mandates the LWUA to forward the
reviewed GPBs to the PCW for final review and endorsement. The same MC provides,
among others:

a. Moratorium on the review and endorsement of water district GPBs for fiscal
years 2016 and 2017.

b. During the moratorium period, the LWUA and the water districts shall
continue to prepare and submit their annual GPBs and GAD ARs online
through the GMMS or in hard copies to the LWUA, which shall then compile
and transmit these to PCW for inclusion in the annual GAD budget report and
other purposes.

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 c. The preparation of GPBs shall follow the guidelines set by JC No. 2012-01,
particularly Sections 5 and 6, with emphasis, among others, on the
institutionalization of the essential elements for GAD planning and budgeting,
such as: (1) the creation and/or strengthening of the GFPS in accordance with
PCW Memorandum Circular 2011-01; (2) the establishment of a GAD
Database containing sex-disaggregated data and/or gender statistics; (3)
capacity building on GAD and (4) conduct of gender audit.

d. The moratorium granted under PCW MC No. 2015-03 was extended under
PCW MC No. 2016-06 dated October 10, 2016 and remains in force until a
new MC has been issued to lift it.

e. However, PCW MC No. 2015-03 specifies that starting with the GAD
planning and budgeting cycle for fiscal year 2018, all water district GPBs and
GAD ARs shall be submitted online through the GMMS and reviewed by the
LWUA before being submitted to the PCW for its final review and
endorsement.

1.4. Review of the __________COB for CY 2020 showed that the total budget was
₽2,788,897.54. However, review of the Budget Utilization Report 2020 revealed that
none was attributed for the implementation of any GAD-related activities by the
District.

1.5. In our interview with the General Manager, the GPB and GAD AR for year 2020 were
not prepared and submitted to LWUA because he thought preparation thereof was not
necessary. Also, he confirmed that the _______ did not establish GFPS and sex
disaggregated database because they were not aware on the regulations of GAD and
none of them was able to attend seminars related on GAD planning and budgeting.

1.6. Apparently, there is a need for the _________ to understand the concepts of GAD,
particularly on the institutionalization of GFPS and the preparation of GPB and GAD
ARs, including, gender analysis, the use of Harmonized Gender and Development
Guidelines (HGDG), and mainstreaming/attribution of the GAD Budget of at least 5%
of the COB in the regular programs, activities and projects (PAPs) of the District.

1.7. Due to foregoing deficiencies, the ________was not able to incorporate GAD
perspective in its policies, programs, activities and projects pursuant to existing rules
and regulations on GAD.

1.8. We recommend that the ________ should institutionalize its GFPS and require
GFPS members to:

1. attend to seminars on GAD planning and budgeting, gender analysis and

HGDG; and

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 2. conduct gender analysis, prepare the related sex disaggregated data, and
propose programs, activities and projects in the GPB based on the results of
gender analysis, supported with sex disaggregated data, and prepare and
submit the GPB and GAD AR to LWUA, for review, in the manner
prescribed under PCW-NEDA-DBM JC No. 2012-01 and PCW MC No. 2015-
03.

______________________
ATL

______________________
Supervising Auditor

Received by:

_______________________

_______________________

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