Richest barangay in Quezon Province calls for special audit of multi-million peso COVID facilities
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Officials from one of the wealthiest barangays in Quezon province have requested the Commission on Audit to carry out a special audit of the multi-million peso abandoned COVID facilities buildings, which were built on a mountain in Mauban, Quezon.
In a press conference in Quezon City, Barangay Cagsiay I, Mauban, Quezon newly elected Chairman Danilo Pastrana, showed theirn letter-request sent to CoA Chairman Gamaliel A. Cordoba, asking said the CoA to conduct Special Audit in that particular project which is necessary to immediately determine the regularity of its implementation, otherwise, the responsible public officials be held responsible.
At present the facilities are considered ‘white elephant’ of Mauban, Quezon as they stand idle without any use and their hospital equipment are exposed at the mercy of nature, according to Pastrana.
Officials of the Quezon Power Plant and the San Buenaventure Power Plant estimated the funds they released to the Barangay for the projects under Energy Regulation No. 01-94 (ER-01-94) pegged at P42 million.
Pastrana (no relation with the incumbent Mauban, Quezon mayor Erwin Pastrana) said that the construction of the facilities on top of the mountain is beyond comprehension, considering that they cannot be transform into an ordinary hospitals or clinics as the patients need to brave their way up on the steep road.
Cagsiay I is the host Barangay of the two coal-fired power plants. Being the most adversely affected, it received several funds from power plants operations aside from huge amount of shares in real property taxes.
However, the COA has recently released its Audit Report for the Eleven-year ended 31 December 2022, wherein it stated that the barangay ‘failed to submit, among other documents, the Financial Transaction Documents for the past 11 years leading to conclusions that hundreds of millions have been dissipated during the period.
The COA gave Rogelio Manrique and Myla Jacalne, former barangay chairman and treasurer respectively, to submit the required documents within 60-days, which period has already lapsed.
