MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for failing to efficiently implement local and foreign-assisted projects amounting to P215.9 billion.
In COA reports released in December, the agency said the DPWH failed to complete and implement several projects.
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“DPWH was not able to efficiently implement 3,047 locally funded projects with an aggregate cost of P131,569,418,441.24 due to inadequate planning, detailed engineering, supervision, and monitoring, which resulted in delayed completion and non-implementation of various projects,” the COA report raid.
The failure to implement these projects is in violation of the revised implementing rules and regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act, as well as the agreed terms and conditions of the contract, according to COA.
On top of the delays in locally funded projects, the DPWH also failed to successfully implement foreign-assisted projects.
“DPWH was not able to efficiently implement 17 Foreign-Assisted Projects with an aggregate cost of P84,411,319,510.12,” the COA report read.
COA noted there were increasing project costs, as well as prolonged implementation periods.
“As a result, the intended beneficiaries were deprived of the immediate use and/or benefits that can be derived from the timely completion of the said infrastructure projects,” COA added.
COA also criticized the DPWH for delays in implementing the Metro Manila Bridges Project, which incurred government commitment fees totaling P26,519,560.90 in 2022 and 2023.
Excluding the commitment fees, the delayed local and foreign-assisted projects total approximately P215.98 billion.
The COA also found that 828 DPWH infrastructure projects were not executed according to their respective contract agreements due to a '"ack of proper supervision and monitoring."
This resulted in different technical defects amounting to P343,524,212.86.
The COA also found the DPWH classified several projects as complete despite the presence of deficiencies.
“Various infrastructure projects with aggregate cost of P5,716,765,648.37 were declared as 100 percent complete on the Report on Publicized Government Programs, Projects and Activities, and project status monitoring reports of DPWH implementing offices despite the deficiencies or defects noted upon actual inspection and validation thereof, thus, not in keeping with transparency on reporting of government transactions,” the COA report said.
The COA also flagged at least P46,418,930.29 worth of obsolete properties and equipment in various DPWH offices that have yet to be disposed of.
The DPWH failed to meet several of its own targets. The agency initially planned to build 905 flood mitigation structures and drainage systems but was only able to complete 450. However, 1,234 projects are still ongoing.
The DPWH also missed its targets for various infrastructure, including school buildings, multi-purpose buildings, health facilities, water supply systems, and farm-to-market roads. While the target was 192 structures, only 51 were completed.
As of last year, COA had 122 outstanding recommendations for the DPWH. The DPWH was only able to implement 70 of these recommendations. One of the recommendations that the DPWH failed to implement was the preparation of proper journal entries to correct the improper recording of fund transfers amounting to P413,779,758.14.