The local government of Davao City failed to build 34 public school buildings and implement 27 infrastructure projects meant to spur socio-economic development last year despite available funds worth more than P320 million, according to the 2018 audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA).

The COA said Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, had a total budget of P292.15 million for the construction of school buildings under the Special Education but only P74.48 million was spent as of December 31, 2018.

Both the Programming and Design Division (PDD) of the City Engineer's Office and the Local School Board (LSB) told the COA that only 20 out of the slated 54 projects were implemented.

The PDD blamed the construction delay to lack of manpower and schools' failure to produce ownership documents, which is a requirement for the preparation of cost estimates and programs of work.

But the COA said the children of Davao City were already deprived of a conducive environment for years, noting the current total classroom shortage of 1,412 in all levels as of June 29, 2018.

It also warned that the classroom backlog may worsen if the number of enrollees continue to increase per school year.

"Classrooms or schools that are overcrowded could result to decrease in the level of student engagement and, therefore, decrease the level of learning," the COA said.

"Schools with sufficient space and/or number of classrooms are more conducive to providing appropriate learning environment for students and will also cater the consistently increasing enrollees every year," it added.

The COA urged the city government to require the LSB to reassess the process of project implementation, fast-track the completion of ongoing construction, and coordinate with the city engineer for a timely project planning to maximize available personnel.

The Schools Division Superintendent submitted a letter-reply to the audit report on February 12, 2019, saying four school buildings were already completed and are due for turnover.

The school official also said only 18 projects remain unimplemented, while two were "reverted to savings for technical reasons." It, nonetheless, vowed to coordinate with the Department of Education-Davao City in addressing the classroom shortage.

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The COA, in its rejoinder, refuted the figure of the school official and said its audit team verified with the PDD and the City Accountant's Office that there were indeed 34 projects that have yet to start.

'Zero utilization'

Meanwhile, state auditors raised the red flag on Davao City's failure to spend all of its P102.66-million development fund for 2018 due to various issues in its implementation.

The fund was meant to transform Davao City into a progressive metropolis and was allotted for 27 infrastructure projects such as road concreting and drainage improvement, with amounts ranging between P15.7 million to P48,952.

The COA said differences in the project title, complications in land ownership and insufficient funds, among others, caused the failure of the projects to start. Some were also already implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The commission said the city government should consider a better communication with the DPWH and have a scrutiny of each project before giving the green light.

The COA also reminded Davao City that non- or under-utilization of allotted funds "is commensurate to underperformance since available resources were not utilized to their full potential."

"We recommended that the [Davao City] management direct its [City Planning and Development Office] to closely coordinate with the respective barangays and other government offices concerned, and regularly monitor status to ensure that priority projects in the annual development plan are carried out in a timely manner and its purpose be achieved to the benefit of the people," it said.

In its comment to the audit, the City Engineer’s Office said it will assist the CPDO in requiring concerned barangay councils to present proof of land ownership before project planning officially starts.

The office of presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio received the audit on May 3. —NB, GMA News