COA on why auditors missed the flood control scam in Bulacan

Posted by ReyFort Media

MANILA, Philippines — How can so many ghost flood control projects slip past the Commission on Audit?

The agency has attributed the proliferation of non-existent flood control projects to a shortage of personnel, especially in the Bulacan First District Engineering Office, now seen as the epicenter of the flood control corruption scandal.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) office in Bulacan’s First District has been linked to several “ghost” or fraudulent flood control projects, which investigators say were part of an alleged kickback scheme involving several senators and House lawmakers.

During COA’s budget hearing at the Senate, Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba said that staff shortages left the agency struggling to oversee local infrastructure projects.

“When we checked on the ground, we noticed that we only have two auditors in the First District Engineering Office of Bulacan — the team leader and their assistant team leader,” Cordoba said.

Those two auditors were reportedly responsible for 11 municipalities, three cities and eight Land Transportation Offices, a workload Cordoba described as far beyond reasonable capacity.

He added that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had earlier cut 963 positions from COA nationwide. In Region 3 where Bulacan is, 136 COA jobs where removed.

COA admits lapses. Cordoba acknowledged that despite the shortage, the agency could have done more to flag suspicious projects earlier.

To remedy what happened in Bulacan’s First District, COA has since issued 21 fraud audit reports: Eight of these were forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman, and 12 were transmitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) for further investigation

The ICI has been spearheading the probe into 421 suspected ghost flood control projects across the country.

Allegations of collusion. Amid the ongoing scandal, COA Commissioner Mario Lipana has been accused of involvement in the scheme through alleged budget insertions in exchange for a cut later on.

Cordoba did not directly address the accusations but reiterated that the commission remains committed to transparency and cooperation with the ICI’s investigation.

Lipana is currently out of the country seeking medical treatment, COA officials said.(J. Mangaluz/Philstar)