COA questions Davao City for use of development fund

MANILA, Philippines – Among the 10 wealthiest cities in the country, only Davao City was questioned for its use of development funds, the 2022 Commission on Audit (COA) report showed. 

State auditors said that Davao City’s expenditures of P6.454 million were “inappropriately charged,” and go against the guidelines established in Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1. This circular was jointly issued by the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Finance, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

In 2022, Davao’s IRA was P8.207 billion – P2.265 billion higher than the P5.942 billion it declared in 2021. 

Around P2.129 billion, which accounts for 20% of the IRA, was earmarked for the city’s development fund. Significant portions of these were allocated as follows:

• Road development – P578.15 million
• Buildings – P424.514 million
• Non-infrastructure social development projects – P305.4 million
• Other infrastructure – P255 million

However, the COA said that these expenses were not allowed to be charged under the development fund.

Among the expenditures questioned by COA were Davao’s P2.9 million spending on cash prizes, officiating fees, phone expenses, vehicle rental, and representation expenses, as well as P3.4 million for catering services and financial assistance to the city’s centenarians.

The Davao City Budget Office and the City Accountant Office explained to COA that the questioned “expenditures were due to management’s misinterpretation of the provision, believing that said expenditures were allowed.”

The Davao City government has committed to aligning future budgets for the development fund with the prescribed rules and regulations for utilization.

Below is how other richest cities in the Philippines spent their IRAs. 

 – Rappler.com