Gov't agencies, SUCs flagged over P242-B delayed, defective projects

The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out 15 national government agencies (NGAs) and 34 state universities and colleges (SUCs) over delayed, unimplemented, and defective infrastructure projects for 2023 totaling P242.19 billion.

- By ELIZABETH MARCELO

In its "2023 Annual Financial Report for the National Government" released last Dec. 2, the COA said that as of Dec. 31, 2023, various infrastructure projects by NGAs with an aggregate cost of P239.82 billion and by SUCs with an aggregate cost of P2.37 billion were either "not executed in accordance with the plan," "with noted deficiencies," "unutilized or not fully utilized," "not completed on time," or "not completed at all."

The COA said these existing conditions "may result in waste of government funds or delayed enjoyment of project benefits." The audit body said the delays were mainly due to the NGAs and SUCs' "poor planning, inadequate detailed engineering, inefficiency in monitoring and supervision of project implementation, non-observance of the provisions of contracts/agreements, delayed or long procurement process, and lack of coordination with LGUs (local government units) and other agencies concerned."