COA calls out DA over P3.5-B in idle, unspent funds

The Commission on Audit has flagged the Department of Agriculture for failing to return a whopping P3.5 billion in either unnecessary or unspent funds to the national government that could have been used to bankroll key programs and projects of the administration.

The 2024 audit report revealed that P3,475,461,849.13 in idle and unexpended funds still sit in the bank accounts of seven DA offices, including its Central Office (CO) in Quezon City, in violation of Section 2 of Executive Order (EO) 91.

The EO, signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, requires government agencies to revert any unspent funds at the end of every fiscal year to the BTr, as the same cannot be spent in subsequent years without legislative approval or the passage of a new law.

This strictly applies to all state departments, bureaus, constitutional offices, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and local government units.

“The huge amount of funds not yet reverted nor deposited to the BTr is not only consistent with the law but also exposes the fund to risk of misuse or misapplication,” state auditors said.

The audit findings revealed that the DA-CO was responsible for the lion’s share of the unreturned money, equivalent to P2.04 billion.

Of the sum, P977.25 million, which accounts for the biggest chunk, was intended to fund the Rice Resiliency Project launched in 2020 to boost local rice production amid global trade uncertainties due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The DA has until December 2021 to exhaust the funds and return the same to the BTr in case they were not spent. However, state auditors found that as of 2024, the DA-CO still failed to return the money back to the national government three years past its validity period.

In addition to this, P482.72 million allocated for the Fuel Discount Program for farmers and fisherfolk remained undisbursed despite the obligation period ending in December 2023.

The said program was allocated P500 million in the 2022 General Appropriations Act to assist farmers and fisherfolk amid high fuel costs by providing them P3,000 each.

The same issue was also observed in DA-Ilocos Norte, where P410.47 million allotted for fertilizer discount vouchers to farmers under the 2023 GAA remained idle and not reverted to the BTr despite the agency only having 30 days to expend the money.

For the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which was supposed to provide support for farmers from financial to machinery, P438.45 million from the 2021 and 2022 GAA was left dormant in DA Regional Offices in Mimaropa, Ilocos Norte, Central Visayas, Cebu, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

“[T]he transfer of these funds to the BTr would augment depleting funds of the National Government, and would greatly ease current fiscal pressures, thus facilitating the implementation of programs and projects,” the COA asserted.

In response, the DA assured state auditors that of the P3.5 billion in unreverted balance as of 2024, P257.63 million was already reverted to the BTr. This includes P87.03 million from CO, P98.37 million from Ilocos Norte, P14.43 million from Mimaropa, and P57.81 million from Central Visayas.