CoA: P3.5-B idle DA funds fail tillers

The Commission on Audit (CoA)has found P3.5 billion in unnecessary or unspent funds that the Department of Agriculture (DA) failed to return to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

These were funds that could have bankrolled key programs and projects of the administration.

The 2024 audit report revealed that P3.475 billion in idle funds was sitting in the bank accounts of seven DA offices, including its Central Office in Quezon City, in violation of Section 2 of Executive Order (EO) 91. 

The EO, signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, required government agencies to revert any unspent funds at the end of every fiscal year to the BTr, as this could not 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 or deposited to the BTr is not only inconsistent with the law but also exposes the fund to risk of misuse or misapplication,” the state auditors said. 

The audit findings revealed that the DA central office was responsible for the lion’s share of the unreturned funds — P2.04 billion. 

Rice resiliency fund

Of the sum, P977.25 million, the most significant chunk, was intended to fund the Rice Resiliency Project launched in 2020 to boost local rice production amid global trade uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The DA was given until December 2021 to exhaust the funds and return the excess to the BTr. 

State auditors found, however, that as of 2024, the DA central office still had not returned the money to the national government, three years past its validity period.

In addition, P482.72 million allocated for the fuel discount program for farmers and fisherfolk remained undisbursed, despite the obligation period ending in December 2023. 

The program was allocated P500 million in the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to help farmers and fisherfolk amid the high fuel costs, giving them P3,000 each.

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