COA flags Talisay City for mismatch in bulbs

CEBU, Philippines — For irregularities in the solar LED lighting project, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the Talisay City Government after revealing that the lights delivered and installed did not match the specifications outlined in the contract documents.

In the 2023 Annual Audit Report of COA, the project lighting for the barangays Bulacao and Tabunok was contracted at a cost of ?3.7 million, including the procurement of 100 units of solar LED lights amounting to ?1,092,000.

State auditors noted that the procurement documents specified 300-watts solar LED lights, each priced at ?10,920. However, the Letovo solar lights delivered did not indicate its wattage.

Auditors said that during their online search and inspection of the product, it was confirmed that the installed lights were only 25W, with a unit cost of ?7,800, significantly lower than the contracted 300W specification.

“The delivery and installation of a 25W solar light by the contractor instead of the 300W is not in accordance with the specification required in the contract/purchase order, and the City should have not paid the contractor in full,” read a portion of the report.

This is why the audit questioned the thoroughness, emphasizing that proper inspection could have detected the deficiency and prompted action to demand the correct specification of lights instead of paying the contractor in full.

Furthermore, the COA report noted that the 25W lights installed didn’t provide adequate illumination which left road lanes still dark.

“As a result, it was observed during inspection that the areas or the road lanes covered by these solar lights with 25W are still dark and not well-lighted, thus defeating the purpose of the said project,” the report reads.

As computed by the audit department, the city government made an excess payment of ?234,000 based between the contract price and the market price of the delivered lights.

With COA’s observation, also stipulated in the report was the comment of the OIC-city engineer acknowledging the error in the specification and fully understanding the importance of accurate documentation.

The engineer further noted that the lights installed were recommended for use with six-meter poles spaced 10 meters apart, whereas the existing poles were spaced approximately 20 meters apart.

On the other hand, COA acknowledged the OIC-city engineer’s comments but maintained their stance that the city government must demand the price difference from the contractor --noting that discrepancy could not be justified as a “minor documentation error”.

“It is to be emphasized that the specification in the documents presented from the requisition, the item quoted by the supplier and up to payment was the 300W. Simply put, what the agency paid for should have been the items received or delivered,” read a portion of the COA report. – BRP  (CEBU NEWS)