In 2024, the municipal government of Bagamanoc failed to fully utilize over P7 million worth of fund transfers from national government agencies intended for various projects, programs and activities, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its report.
The audit also showed that balances from completed projects amounting to P25,343.69 remained unliquidated as of December 31, 2024.
This consequently deprived the town’s constituents of the economic benefits that could have been gained from the timely implementation of the PPAs and hindered the source agency from reallocating the excess funds to other priority government programs.
Among the unused fund transfers for ongoing projects were P1.77 million Performance-Based Grant for nutrition programs from the Department of Health (DOH); P1.08 million for a fish sanctuary from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Bottom-Up Budgeting program; P20,813.00 for the Supplemental Feeding for CY 2023 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); another P616,890.00 for the same DSWD program for CY 2024; and P3.49 million for the Social Pension program of DSWD for CY 2024.
Also included is a P300,000.00 funding from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) for a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that was slated for implementation.
Inquiries with concerned officials indicated that for the nutrition program, the implementation was delayed due to the late release of funds by the source agency, with the project in progress as of March 2025 with an accomplishment of 66.77 percent.
The establishment of the fish sanctuary was not implemented that year due to a conflict with the barangay concerned which has opposed the project as well as the absence of a Sangguniang Bayan resolution identifying the exact site for the sanctuary.
“Despite the lack of such a resolution, construction materials and motorboats intended as interventions for the fisherfolk were procured. As a result, the motorboats have sustained damage, even though the project itself remained unimplemented,” the COA team noted.
On the other hand, it said, the excess balances from fund transfers for projects that have been fully implemented by the LGU should have been returned to the respective source agencies to complete the liquidation process, it added.
In another finding, the government watchdog reported that payables amounting to just over P2 million remained outstanding in the books of accounts for over two years from the date of incurrence and were not reverted to the unappropriated surplus.
Scrutiny of the account revealed significant outstanding payables to various suppliers, with the highest individual payable amounting to P735,935.58, it stated.
“If left unresolved, these long-outstanding obligations may prompt suppliers to pursue formal means of following up their claims,” the COA said, adding that the existence of such accounts may lead to a misrepresentation of the financial statements.
Cash advances to officers and employees totaling P562,289.44 remained unliquidated at year-end due to leniency in the grant, utilization and liquidation of the CAs, it observed, exposing government funds to possible losses or unauthorized uses.
The audit showed that 21 CAs totaling P165,941.72 were granted between 2017 and 2023, indicating that the management did not enforce the settlement of the long-overdue advances within the prescribed timeline.
The remaining balance pertained to cash advances granted in various months of 2024, it added.
The COA recommended that the local chief executive direct the officials and employees to liquidate their cash advances immediately to avoid any legal action and to discontinue granting additional CAs unless settlement of previous advances is made.
Among the other significant findings in the audit report were: failure to implement 10 development projects with a total appropriation of P11.6 million, with the LGU blaming numerous typhoons that year for the delay; procedural lapses in the execution of procurement activities and deficiencies in the supporting documents for infrastructure projects as well as for goods; procurement of a motorcycle costing P134,950.00 through Shopping, instead of the appropriate method of Negotiated Procurement; procurement of 83 wall fans costing a total of P243,917.00, with only 26 acknowledged to have been received by school heads and teachers; failure to formulate policies and procedures in hiring Job Order (JO) personnel, resulting in the hiring of numerous personnel with the same functions; the monthly average of 164 JO personnel hired also submitted accomplishment reports that did not reflect their actual duties or tasks; unnecessary expenditures totaling P92,000.00 for registration fees paid to leagues and associations for regular meetings which the COA said do not qualify as specialized trainings, seminars or conventions that are designed to provide skills and professional development; and failure to include in the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund Investment Plan the PPAs charged to the unexpended LDRRMF of previous years.