Disbursements made by the Panganiban municipal government in 2023 for payments for contractors as well as the honoraria of Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) were not supported with complete documentation, the Commission on Audit said in its Annual Audit Report.
In its findings, the team said a total of P5.1 million in various infrastructure projects was covered by the post-audit of the disbursement of various advance payments, variation orders, progress payments, final payments and release of retention money.
Among the projects cited were the construction of health station in Cabuyoan, improvement of hall in Burabod, rehabilitation of road in Salvacion, perimeter fencing of plaza, construction of road in San Nicolas, and expansion of multi-purpose building at the town plaza.
The team noted the absence of the statement of time elapsed, which would have shown details on the implementation of the project; lack of attached inspection report, monthly certificate of payment and contractor’s affidavit on payment of laborers and materials; absence of letter request from the contractor for advance and final payments; and non-inclusion in contract specifications of the provision for testing on infrastructure materials such as concrete and steel.
This raised doubts as to the validity and propriety of the disbursements, the COA report stated.
It added that one payment made to a contractor was not supported with an Official Receipt, casting doubt on whether the contractor received the amount disbursed by the LGU.
A similar finding was made by the team with regards to the payment of P134,000 in honoraria to the BAC chairman and its members, the Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Secretariat.
The disbursement lacked documentation such as the office order creating and designating the BAC composition and authorizing the collection of honoraria, minutes of BAC meeting, certification that the procurement involved competitive bidding, and attendance sheets.
While the payroll for the honoraria was provided, there was no acknowledgement receipt from the payees.
The LGU likewise paid for the purchase of seven parcels of land for the road opening of Murphy Extension Road to Cemetery in San Nicolas even in the absence of certificates of title for five of the lots.
There was also no stipulation in the Deed of Absolute Sale on the expenses for the sale’s execution and registration being shouldered by the buyer, the COA said.
The audit also flagged the payment of P30,375 to private lawyers for notarial fees in the acquisition of lots and for a loan agreement with a government bank,
In the absence of the municipality’s legal officer, the provincial legal officer also handles its legal affairs, except in actions or proceedings where the town is the adverse party to the provincial government or to another municipality.
It cited a Sandiganbayan decision as affirmed by the Supreme Court that the duty of the provincial legal officer mandatorily extends to providing legal assistance to and notarize the documents of the component cities and municipalities of the entire province.
Among the other significant audit findings in Panganiban for CY 2023 transactions were: payment of fuel, oil and lubricants totaling P1.02 million unsupported with driver’s trip tickets and reports of fuel consumption and official travels; Statement of Funding Sources for Supplemental Budgets did not identify details of the savings; failure to implement P5.8 million in priority projects under the 20% Development Fund due to lack of proper planning; and failure to deduct withholding taxes from 36 payments to suppliers and service providers totaling P611,875.