OUT of 84 projects Toledo City wanted to do in 2017, only five were completed as of Dec. 31, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
This meant that of the projects in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP), for which the City had budgeted P1.49 billion, 30 were not implemented because the program of works wasn’t done.
The 30 projects that weren’t implemented had a combined budget of P461.59 million.
These included a P200-million community center in Barangay Poblacion; a P40-million road rehabilitation project in Barangay Matab-ang; a P90-million Malubog diversion road; and improvements in solid waste collection, for which the City had budgeted P27.1 million.
The five projects that were implemented, according to the 2017 audit report, were the purchase of medical equipment for P5 million; purchase of P752,400 worth of uniforms for the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet; purchase of P35 million worth of equipment for its engineering office and information technology equipment for the education department; and P25 million worth of flood and erosion control projects.
At least 12 projects were classified as “ongoing completion.”
These appropriations included P600 million for the design and construction of a sports center in Barangay Sangi; P53.3 million to build Ilihan Bridge; P88 million to improve the Bawod-Sam-ang-Awihao road; and P27 million for its road rehabilitation and maintenance program.
Classrooms, medicine
The City is still in the procurement process for 35 projects, which include 15 classroom or school-building projects for several barangays, among them Cantabaco, DAS, Dumlog, and Malubog.
The procurement list also includes P3.98 million for the social welfare office’s supplemental feeding program; medicines and vaccines for the City Health Department; and P23.77 million for the construction of a drainage system in Barangay Sangi.
“The low percentage of accomplishment may be due to the lack of proper monitoring in the implementation of these projects,” state auditors observed.
The audit report also pointed out that among the reasons the projects were not done was the lack of a specific plan or program of works.
Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña said that the projects would require a large amount.
He said that the City was arranging for a second loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines. “That should take care of our projects,” he told SunStar Super Balita.
In 2017, the Toledo City Government borrowed P1.3 billion from the Land Bank for its big-ticket projects in the annual plan. The City will have 15 years to pay, with a two-year grace period and fixed interest rate of 3.75 percent per year.
Last year, the City received P580.23 million as its share of internal revenues, from P505.26 million in 2016.
Mayor Osmeña also pointed to the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to suspend him for a year as one factor for the City’s failure to get more projects finished.
“The suspension by the Ombudsman disrupted my work. So, if there is anyone to blame for the non-implementation of the projects of the City of Toledo, it should be the ombudsman,” said Osmeña.
He also explained that the AIP listed projects that were meant to be done over five years and not just one.