NAGA evacuation building retrofit set after CoA flag

A P50-million evacuation center in Naga City was found to have various defects just about two years after its construction, according to the Commission on Audit (CoA).

The CoA revealed the defects in a 2024 report pertaining to the year 2023, a copy of which was sent to Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion recently.

In 2021, the Naga LGU and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) forged a memorandum of agreement (MoA), allowing the construction of the multi-purpose or evacuation center for P50 million.

The fund was released by the PAGCOR Board of Directors in three tranches.

Audit findings showed that the joint project was completed on 13 October 2022, roughly nine months after the notice to proceed with its construction was issued on 17 January of the same year.

However, an inspection by the audit team on 22 February of this year revealed the deficiencies in the building’s physical structure and operation.

Among the defects were leakage in the comfort rooms, broken doors, defective roof deck and gutter at the main staircase front lobby, and cracks in the connection of walls and columns.

State auditors also noticed that the tiles used were of poor quality, exacerbated by the uneven application of adhesive, exposing voids and causing tiles to break easily.

Under the MoA, the LGU is responsible for the site development, maintenance, repairs, and other expenses associated with maintaining the PAGCOR project.

The camp manager, whom the city mayor and PAGCOR designated to have an office space inside the building, informed auditors that his office started occupying the building in January 2024 and that the only deficiency noted at the latter part of the project’s completion was the lighting.

Audit findings further revealed that the supposed sleeping space on the first floor was used as a camp management desk.

“It must be noted that the defects in the structure and the facilities of the evacuation center indicate its unsafe usage to the detriment of the evacuees who may occupy it in the future,” CoA said.

“This runs counter to the very purpose of the building, which supposedly is intended to provide a safer shelter for citizens affected in times of calamities and disasters.”

Moreover, CoA underscored that the deficiencies in the project’s physical structure and operations hindered the realization of the objectives for which the project was established.

The Naga City LGU, however, assured auditors that they would issue a letter with a final warning to the contractor to rectify the deficiencies in the evacuation center’s structure.

While the contractor has yet to respond, the Naga City provincial government said they will proceed with the necessary repairs to the PAGCOR building, and the expense will be reimbursed and charged against the contractor.