The Commission on Audit (CoA) has raised concerns about Marinduque State College (MSC) for fully paying contractors of three major infrastructure projects worth P162.1 million, despite the buildings being incomplete.
The projects in question include the P73.42-million two-story administration building, the P49.22-million five-story engineering building, and the P39.46-million three-story skills laboratory for nursing students.
According to the 2023 audit report, MSC paid the contractors in full and refunded retention fees totaling P41,626,289.31 in December.
However, an inspection on 7 March revealed that construction on all three buildings was still ongoing and delayed by five to 106 days as of the end of 2023.
The audit found the administration building at 84.63 percent completion, the laboratory at 88.51 percent, and the engineering building at 60.57 percent.
The Physical Plant Management Office also reported that the projects had incurred significant negative slippages.
CoA criticized MSC for not taking necessary actions against the contractors.
According to the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) and Government Procurement Policy Board Circular 03-2019, MSC should have issued a final warning and required a revised “catch-up” program for exceeding the 10 percent negative slippage threshold.
The contracts for the administration and engineering buildings, with slippages of 15.37 percent and 39.43 percent respectively, should have been terminated, it added.
An official of MSC justified the full payments by citing the risk of losing funds at year-end if not utilized. However, CoA countered that such advance payments violate Section 88 of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree 1445).
CoA also highlighted that premature payment puts MSC at a disadvantage, risking the potential non-imposition of liquidated damages and refund of retention money before project completion.
“Further, the refund of retention money prior to the completion of the project defeats its purpose, which is to guarantee that should there be defective works by the contractor, the government has the means to compel the contractor to remedy those defective works,” CoA stated.
