COA: TUP hoarded P545 M

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) has P545 million stashed in banks last year but failed to use the money to procure school equipment and maintain its facilities, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in a 2013 report released yesterday.

For 2013, the TUP approved a special budget of P297.798 million but only used 129.015 million or 43 percent of the amount.

This resulted in “the continuous accumulation of the Special Trust Fund in the banks which amounted to P545,466,392.14 as of Dec. 31, 2013, consisting of savings from the yearly budget (that went to the) STF,” the COA report read.

State auditors urged TUP officials to “prepare a realistic budget, taking into consideration the optimal use of resources and the most economical, efficient and effective means of attaining planned procurements and project outputs of the desired quality on a timely basis.”

State auditors said “the most glaring of the unutilized budget pertains to the procurement of infrastructure projects and equipment for the use of the students amounting to P59,482,710.12.”

TUP officials, in response, said they will meet with various project management teams of the different projects and determine the causes of the delays and request them to prepare catch-up plans.