The national government has lost millions after the National Irrigation Administration terminated 14 irrigation projects worth P139.464 million.

The discontinuance was discovered by the Commission on Audit in its 2022 report on the NIA.

State auditors discovered that the termination of the 14 contracts was the contractors' fault and was mutually agreed upon by the NIA and the contractors concerned.

Based on the audit, NIA Regional Office IX accounted for most of the terminated projects at 13, with aggregate funds of P127,796,395. The NIA implementing office in Camarines Sur had only one contract valued at P11,667,597.

CoA cited several grounds for the termination of the projects, including NIA's failure to enter into a negotiated procurement for the completion of the projects pursuant to provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184).

"The termination of the irrigation contracts due to, among other things, the contractors' fault or as mutually agreed upon by the parties in view of the discontinuance of the funding or because the projects were no longer needed resulted in the wastage of government's funds," CoA said.

To stave off a recurrence, the auditing body ordered NIA to file appropriate charges against the erring contractors and administrative sanctions against its officials and personnel.