CoA flags stalled P32.6-M housing project for ‘Yolanda’ survivors

The Commission on Audit (CoA) flagged a local government housing initiative intended for victims of super typhoon “Yolanda,” revealing that a P32.62 million advance payment released in 2021 produced no housing structures.

In an audit report released 29 September, the CoA stated that the housing development in Bogo City remains incomplete and the released mobilization funds remain unrecouped.

To recall, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Bogo City government signed a memorandum of agreement in March 2019, designating the local government unit as the lead agency responsible for procurement, fund management, and construction oversight, with the NHA disbursing funds in tranches.

The project originally targeted the construction of 750 units at Vicente Ferrer Homes 2 in Barangay Paz.

However, the scope was reduced to 387 units after the NHA cut its funding allocation due to budget constraints in September 2022, deobligating roughly P79.8 million and adjusting the total project cost to P105 million.

The city received the initial P32.62 million mobilization payment — representing 15 percent of the original contract — in October 2021 and released the funds directly to the private contractor.

City officials cited ongoing land ownership disputes and litigation involving the project site as the reason for the delays.

But state auditors cited that city administrators failed to submit formal documentation justifying the work suspensions or provide official progress updates, leaving the revised completion deadline of 27 July 2024 unverified.

CoA stressed that under the terms of reference, the contractor was legally required to secure clean land titles and necessary municipal permits prior to construction, meaning potential land disputes should have been factored into the original timeline rather than used as a post-facto justification.

Bogo City, located approximately 98 kilometers north of Cebu City, was among the areas hardest hit when super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated the Visayas region 13 years ago.