COA wants probe of idle vehicle testing, flags P14-B road projects

The Commission on Audit (COA) has called on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to conduct an investigation and identify the persons liable for the “ineffective implementation” of the P437.99-million automated vehicle inspection system.

The COA also questioned the P14.18-billion worth of projects funded by the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) and implemented by the controversial Road Board.

State auditors also found irregular the use of P78.83 million on Road Board officials’ foreign travels, bonuses and allowances, as well as the agency’s consultancy services.

All these findings were included in the COA’s 2017 annual audit report on the Road Board—an agency that may soon be abolished, unless President Duterte vetoes the measure that had been unanimously passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

‘Unproductive’

According to the audit report, the LTO’s Motor Vehicle Inspection System, which was meant to test the roadworthiness of vehicles, “remained mostly unproductive” a decade after it was launched in 2008.

The LTO procured 11 sets of MVIS facilities from Enviro-Aire Inc., in 2008 and 2009, even before funding was secured for the construction of the building to house the equipment.

As of last December, these equipment have not been completely installed.

Auditors said the LTO should identify the persons liable for the failure to use the MVIS facilities and “file the appropriate legal actions … as warranted.”

Implementation delays

Meanwhile, auditors flagged the delays in the implementation of 391 MVUC-funded projects worth P10.21 billion.

A total of 122 of these projects, worth P3.69 billion, were still ongoing at the end of 2017, while 78 projects worth P1.46 billion have not been started.

In all, 106 projects with a total cost of P3.74 billion have not been obligated at all because of the slowness of procurement processes and the failure to coordinate with government agencies and public utility companies, COA said.

On top of this, another 121 projects (P1.32 billion) from earlier years were still unimplemented as of December.

“The public was deprived of the benefits from well-maintained and sufficiently lit roads with adequate road signages and accessible pedestrian overpasses,” read the report.

Auditors likewise found inefficiencies in the implementation of the P3.97-billion National Road Lighting Project from 2013 to 2016.