MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged undelivered dog food for the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) K9 dogs in its latest annual audit report.

The COA said that P10,190,208 worth of dog food had been delayed for 661 days. As of December 2022, the contract for the said delivery was already going through a termination process.

Aside from the dog food, three other transactions were also found to be delayed. These include the P17.47-million dry docking and repair of BRP Cape San Agustin due on December 14, 2022, the supply and delivery of Main Rotor Blade folding kit due on November 9, 2022, and the P11.3-million emergency dry docking and repair of DF-318 equipment, which was due on December 20, 2022.

The COA said the PCG “did not impose liquidated damages on the above-mentioned delayed projects.” The auditing body also found that the PCG has no central project monitoring unit, so the end-users of the subject projects are the ones who check, monitor, and demand the delivery of the projects they need.

The end-users also prepare the verified reports, which contain the history of the projects’ implementation, grounds for termination, and recommended actions that need to be undertaken as basis for the issuance of the notice to terminate contracts, the COA said.

The COA added that the end-users of the projects did not submit updated status or verified reports, so their actual status was not determined. The projects were already delayed, “which may result in the loss and wastage of government funds,” the COA said.

The auditing body reiterated its prior recommendations and the coast guard agreed to:

• Demand the immediate completion of the delayed projects and impose liquidated damages
• Create a central monitoring unit that will oversee all the PCG projects in the country
• Institute legal proceedings and blacklisting process against erring contractors if a full implementation is no longer an option
• Regularly monitor the implementation of the projects
• Initiate an appropriate planning procedure and secure necessary documents before entering into a procurement process to avoid delays

– Rappler.com