BAGUIO CITY – The local government is mandated to return to the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH) and the national coffers multi-million funds that were earlier downloaded to the city supposedly to fund the implementation of various infrastructure projects that were flagged down by no less than the Commission on Audit (COA) and the concerned government agencies.
Sources, who requested anonymity for personal and security reasons, claimed that the authority to use the downloaded funds for the specific projects through the government’s cash-based budgeting will expire on December 31, 2023 and whatever unused and disallowed funds will automatically revert to the concerned government agency and the national coffers.
Earlier, the DPWH downloaded to the city more than P25 million representing 50 percent of the committed funds for the proposed construction of the Baguio youth convergence center; some P40 million for the proposed construction of two multi-level parking buildings at Wright Park and a still undetermined amount of public funds for the construction of the Irisan barangay hall.
However, the COA, in its annual audit report, disallowed the payment of P25 million that was made by the city to the constrictor of the youth convergence center at the Baguio Athletic Bowl because the same was not intended for the project construction of a multipurpose building as contained in the general appropriations law that provided for the said funds.
Further, the contractor of the two proposed multi-level parking buildings at Wright Park did not allegedly comply with the prescribed standards that compelled the DPWH to raise issues on the quality of work that resulted to the non-continuance of the said projects which is another issue being raised on the supposed transparency and accountability being espoused by the local government.
On the construction of the Irisan barangay hall, the DPWH did not allow the payment of some P17 million to the contractor, who is an alleged relative of a ranking city official, because of the reported questionable quality of materials that were used. Instead of the use of schedule 60 metals, what had been used in the put up of the structure was schedule 40 but the contractor allegedly billed for the payment of the schedule 60 steel which is in gross violation of the project estimates and specifications and another blow to the local government’s advocacy on good governance.
According to the sources, the DPWH is no longer inclined to download funds under the 2024 national budget to the local government as the agency, through its district office, will be the ones to implement the funded infrastructure projects that were outlined under the national expenditure program located in the different parts of the city.
The source pointed out that what happened to the downloaded funds to the city should serve as a warning to other government agencies intending to download funds to the city not to do so as it might suffer similar problems as what was encountered by the DPWH that significantly affected the agency’s performance in the utilization of funds for the prescribed projects.
Under the government’s present policy on cash-based budgeting, funds that are not used up for the projects that had been allotted by the end of the year shall automatically revert to the national coffers. Contributed News