The Commission on Audit (CoA) has criticized Tabaco City in Albay province for not utilizing its P54.8 million budget, leading to the non-implementation of crucial projects by the local government unit.

Tabaco has a total appropriation of P109.07 million under the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF).

Of the total, P42,527,286.39 was allocated for 2023, while ₱66,539,411.16 consisted of unused funds from prior years and various donations.

In its 2023 report, however, the CoA discovered that Tabaco City only utilized P54.29 million, which accounts for 49.77 percent of the total expenditure, leaving an unspent balance of P54,781,579.63.

“The unimplemented and/or partial implementation of the identified PPAs as well as the unprogrammed balances from prior years resulted in the non-attainment of the various objectives of planned priority programs,” the auditing body said.

Among the projects that did not materialize was the stockpiling of goods, nutritional foods/supplements, medicines, and medical supplies, which accounted for the biggest chunk at P1.55 million.

Personnel of the DRRM office told auditors that the purchase of goods for stockpiling was not made because the stockpile from 2022 was still intact.

Furthermore, he said that the procurement of information and database generation, satellite phones, and tsunami early warning devices was stalled due to the non-availability of suppliers.

Audit findings further revealed that Tabaco City also did not implement a flood control project, renovation of the evacuation center, and rehabilitation of the irrigation system in 2022. These projects, totaling P6.57 million, were funded by reprogramming the unexpended balance.

“In addition, we still observe the same findings from prior years, where the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund Investment Plan for the current year did not include the details of PPAs (program/projects/activities) to be charged against the unexpended balances from prior years,” CoA said.

The Tabaco DRRM office furnished the auditing body a letter on 1 April, attributing their lapses to unforeseen circumstances such as the Mayon eruption, unavailability of suppliers, sufficient volume of welfare goods, and late approval of unexpended balances, which they argued were beyond their control.

Nevertheless, they vowed to adhere to CoA’s order to monitor the implementation of PPAs to facilitate its prompt completion within the planned timelines, among others.