The Commission on Audit (CoA) has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to submit immediately documentary evidence for the whopping P20.3 billion the agency spent in 2023 without complete and proper documentation.

The audit report said that various DPWH offices disbursed P20,346,969,684.88 last year, with the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) accounting for the lion’s share at over P9 billion.

DPWH-CAR reportedly used the funds to pay for various infrastructure projects and goods.

DPWH Regional Office V (Bicol) spent the second largest chunk at more than P4 billion to pay for work items for trees, furnishings, and transplanting in 58 infrastructure projects.

The audit findings revealed that P592.2 million went to advance payments to contractors in DPWH-Region IV-A (Calamba, Laguna), while P1.8 million went to overtime pay in DPWH-Region I (Pangasinan, 2nd District Engineering Office), among other expenses.

State auditors flagged the transactions due to the lack of proper and complete supporting documentation, such as backup computations, delivery receipts, official receipts, accomplishment/inventory/monitoring reports, and certification/permits.

“The disbursements and payments made without proper or complete documentation rendered the transactions doubtful as to their legality, propriety, or regularity; hence, the same shall be suspended in audit until the requirements are duly complied with,” the CoA said.

Moreover, it added that the DPWH’s non-compliance with accounting and auditing guidelines also resulted in a delay in tree replacements, depriving the beneficiaries of the timely benefits that could be derived from the program, such as employment and the creation of forest-based micro-enterprises.

The DPWH, meanwhile, explained to the auditors that the non-submission was due to suppliers and contractors failing to provide the required supporting documents.

Another contributing factor were the inadvertent lapses and insufficient review caused by the large volume of transactions and documents processed by the DPWH offices.

Section 4 (6) of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines mandates that “Claims against government funds shall be supported by complete documentation.”

The auditing body stated that the DPWH’s failure to adhere to this fundamental principle governing financial transactions and agency operations undermined the validity and propriety of the transactions.