MANILA, Philippines – The city worst hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Tacloban, hasn't used millions in funds to rehabilitate Yolanda-hit communities, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
The Tacloban City government also shunned procurement and audit rules when it dealt with contractors, COA said in a report dated October 14.
The COA report showed that the Tacloban City government got P158.196 million ($3.43 million) under the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Recovery Assistance for Yolanda (RAY).
State auditors said that as of the end of 2014, the DILG-RAY Trust Fund had total debits of P26.36 million ($572,033).
This was composed of P23.225 million ($504,001) for “ongoing repairs and construction,” as well as P3.13 million ($67,901) for “completed repairs for CY 2014.”
The COA said: “These are charges for the ongoing and completed repairs and construction of damaged buildings brought about by the Super Typhoon Yolanda. However, review of the subsidiary ledgers of the Construction in Progress-Agency Assets and PPE accounts disclosed the absence of entries for the ongoing and completed projects.”
The Tacloban City government dismissed its failure to record as an oversight.
It vowed to make the needed corrections.
Yolanda devastated Tacloban City on November 8, 2013, killing at least 6,300 people and leaving 900,000 people homeless. – Rappler.com
*$1 = P46.09