Pest-infested DSWD warehouses flagged

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged pest-infested warehouses of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Northern Mindanao where P106.93 million worth of relief goods are stored.

In a 2025 audit report on the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, state auditors said the warehouses were not adequately protected with a food-safe and systematic pest control program.

“The goods were exposed to contamination, physical damage and deterioration from rodents and other pests, leading to damaged, infested, and stale items that had to be disposed of as unfit for distribution,” the report read.

The COA also flagged the improper storage and inadequate monitoring of movements of pre-positioned goods in DSWD field offices in Ilocos, Calabarzon and Davao region.

“The absence of an effective monitoring over prepositioned goods stored in warehouses in local government units heightens the risk of deterioration, contamination, damage, expiration, misplacement or wastage of government resources,” the COA said.