COA flags Office of the Ombudsman’s incomplete, uninsured P500-M building

The Office of the Ombudsman (File photo by NINO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Recently-retired Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales was forced to transfer to a new P498.6-million building in Quezon City compound of her office, despite the fact that it was not yet completed as of 2017 and was not even insured.

The Commission on Audit revealed this in its 2017 annual audit report, which noted that Morales and other personnel of the Office of Ombudsman pursued relocation to the five-story Ombudsman Annex building due to the “dire need for office space.”

This was despite the absence of a certificate of final acceptance, a certificate of completion of works, or an occupancy permit.

Auditors noted that the percentage of acceptable work accomplishment for the building remained stuck at 97.62 percent from June 6, 2015 onward and had not moved forward as of Dec. 31, 2017.

Yet, the Ombudsman had not deducted or charged liquidated damages from the contractor – which was not specifically named in the audit report – as penalty for the delays.

Cracks were found along the ceiling board joints and precast pillars at the main entry porch. Some defects were also found in the airconditioning units, the elevated water tanks, and the exhaust fan units.

Incomplete works also include those concerning the fire detection and alarm and the fire protection and suppression systems, the plumbing and sanitary system, the telephone and data cabling systems, the basement heat ventilation system, and the perimeter lighting system.

Auditors also said the failure to insure the building with the General Insurance Fund of the Government Service Insurance System exposed the anti-corruption office to “unnecessary risk of not being indemnified for any loss or damage due to fortuitous events.” /atm