Health Secretary Francisco Duque III asserted on Saturday, August 14, that no money was stolen after the Commission on Audit (COA) released its annual audit report on the Department of Health (DOH) that noted some deficiencies involving more than ₱ 67 billion of Coronavirus 2019 response funds.
According to Duque, the DOH is still gathering the pertinent documents that would clarify the deficiencies. This was after President Rodrigo Duterte urged the DOH on Thursday to respond to COA’s report.
“You will be assured that no money went into corruption. None was stolen. I am sure of that,” he said in an interview with DZMM also on Saturday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the COA released its annual report on DOH that stated the following:
— Deficiencies worth ₱ 67,323,186,570.57 aggravated the challenges of the current pandemic.
— Pieces of equipment amounting to ₱ 1,225,260,566.29 acquired under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) were either undelivered, unused, and/or without calibration and preventive maintenance. Also, various HFEP infrastructure projects costing ₱ 2,832,390,057.53 were either unoccupied or deferred in execution.
— There were deficiencies worth ₱ 65,356,720.70 in the dispersal of centrally-procured assets to numerous Operating Units (OUs).
— Drugs, medicine, and other kinds of inventories amounting to ₱ 95,675,058.98 were discovered to be practically expired or expired.
— Allotment totaling ₱ 24,641,119,764.42 as of December 31, 2020, which was supposed to strengthen the Department’s capability to deliver basic public health services, was unspent.
— Funds worth ₱ 306,734,289.77 allocated to the Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) were unutilized; inadequate programs were implemented.
— Only ₱ 63,467,670.77 or 37.43% of ₱169,578,991.42, which is the 25% allotted hospital income of four OUs for the acquisition of equipment and upgrading hospital facilities, was used. One OU had even devoted only ₱ 4,102,375.65 out of ₱ 116,037,875.84 or merely 3.54% of its hospital income.
— Money totaling ₱ 441,239,379.94 stayed unremitted to the National Treasury despite law and regulations.
— The absence of documentation of various contracts in the total of at least ₱ 3,967,249,291.33 was against the provision of RA No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and its RIRR (Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations).
— The expenditure of several OUs worth ₱ 557,699,748.22 was against the established rules, guidelines, policies, and principles.
The COA clarified its report on Friday, after the backlash, that it is still premature to claim that there is corruption since the DOH still has the chance to submit untransmitted documents. Nevertheless, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco asked the COA on Sunday for a briefing within the week.
On the other hand, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Thursday that the Malacañang acknowledged the issue as serious. However, in the President’s pre-recorded weekly national address aired on Monday night, Duterte expressed that the DOH can’t steal ₱ 67.3 billion. He attributed the deficiencies to unfinished documentation; he insisted not to oust Duque.
The President also told that COA’s annual audit reports can taint the government with ‘corruption by perception’ that can mislead the public. He advised the state auditing agency to let the government officials finish their projects before the annual auditing. The COA stated also today that it cannot give responses apart from its audit reports.
This is not the first time to have an issue among Duterte, Duque, and the COA. In July, Duterte defended Duque amid the failing pandemic response despite some Cabinet officials wished Duque dismissed. Duterte has also joked during the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order in Pasay City in 2019 about abducting and torturing COA executives since COA made things ‘difficult.’
With the increasing Covid-19 cases, new Lambda variant, alleged corruption within the DOH, and unreleased benefits, the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) announced on Monday that a group of public and private health workers is considering, once more, a mass protest.
Featured image courtesy of Panay News.
