Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Over P60M supplies left to rot in Mandaue
AT LEAST P69 million in government money has been wasted when the Mandaue City Government bought supplies, equipment and construction materials that were either unused or undistributed.
Worse, state auditors later discovered that these have been rendered obsolete, left to rot, or have deteriorated.
Of these purchases, the biggest amount was wasted on the purchase of garbage bins worth P110 million.
Of the 8,502 bins purchased, more than half, or 4,716 bins, were “undistributed, unutilized and left exposed to the elements at the stockyard.”
Interest rates
This resulted in wastage of P37.98 million and an unnecessary payment of P3.41 million in interest rates for the loan that the City made with the Development Bank of the Philippines to buy these bins.
In its annual report on the accounts and finances of the Mandaue City Government for 2006, the Commission on Audit (COA) said these 4,716 bins have never been used from the time it was delivered by Schaefer Systems International PTE LTD up until the agency conducted an inspection.
The bins, bought in early last year, were part of a P123-million package for the City’s solid waste management program. COA, however, found that only 3,786 bins were placed on the streets while the rest were stored in a stockyard in Barangay Jagobiao.
“Furthermore, other bins given to barangays were found not utilized but only kept stored in some areas,” the report stated.
Deteriorating
Auditors also found that various hospital equipment, air conditioning units and sound system worth P17.49 million have never been used since these were purchased two to three years ago.
This, according to the report, resulted in the exposure of these equipment to deterioration as these were either unused or not maintained.
This was also a factor in the “diminished health and other services offered by the city hospital and other concerned offices.”
Hospital officials, however, said in an exit conference that they purchased the equipment thinking that construction of a hospital annex would be completed immediately. By the end of 2006, auditors noted that work on the annex was barely 62.27% complete.
Materials bought for the construction of the new Mandaue City Public Market and the Casili barangay hall also suffered the same fate as the hospital equipment.
Auditors also noted an overpayment of P2.89 million to the contractor of the public market. The amount represented the difference between the reported accomplishment of 98.05 percent and the actual percentage of accomplishment, which was only 94.97 percent.
Some P12.62 million has been released for the purchase of the materials for the construction of the market but auditors found that “the accomplishment report showed no percentage of accomplishment.”
The non-utilization of these materials, COA pointed out, is in violation of Presidential Decree 1445 which provides that “government officials and employees shall ensure that government resources are managed, expended and utilized in accordance with laws, rules and regulations and safeguarded against loss or wastage thru illegal or improper disposition.”
Obsolete books
Nearly P1 million worth of books purchased using the local school board funds also remain undistributed and unused.
These books, according to report, have been rendered obsolete due to the “change of curriculum, non-availability of related textbooks for skill books/workbooks purchased and multiply titles for the same subject.”
“The purchases were made without considering the needs of the schools and without validating the requests made for these purchases,” the report stated.
As it has noted in last year’s report, COA again called the attention of the City Government on the overpaid salaries of the vice mayor and the members of the City Council that has accumulated to P6.9 million.
“It was found that these officials continued to be paid salaries, 13th month and monetization benefits in excess of the rates authorized,” auditors said.
Recommendations
These findings prompted COA Cluster Director Delfin Aguilar to request Mayor Jonas Cortes to appropriately act on their comments and observations, even if the questioned transactions were consummated during the administration of former mayor Thadeo Ouano.
As for the garbage bins, auditors said City Hall should distribute the remaining units equitably and to make a thorough evaluation and study before making any purchases.
The City Government was also told to limit the quantity of items to be purchased and to consider the actual needs of the City to avoid overstocking the items.
City officials, specifically the city engineer, were also told to prioritize the completion of the hospital annex and the public market so the equipment purchased could be utilized.
“In future projects, it is advised that sufficient planning and coordinated activities as to the prioritization of acquisitions be made to prevent non-utilization of equipment and unnecessary allocation of funds,” the report stated.
As for the books, the COA urged the City officials to require Local School Board to assess the actual needs of the school first and prioritize the use of the Special Education Fund to the most necessary and actual needs.
As regards the overpaid salaries of members of the City Council, the COA said the Mandaue City Government should institute measures to ensure the refund of the excess amount. (OCP)
