COA flags DICT for ‘very low fund utilization rate’

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for using only P1.2 billion out of its P6.2-billion funding for 2019 for a “very low fund utilization rate.”

It also noted in its 2019 audit report that the DICT’s “continuing allotments” totaling P843 million were not fully used as only P520 million or 49.77 percent was obligated while P223 million or 26.47 percent was disbursed.

According to the COA, this resulted “in the inevitable reversion of the unobligated continuing allotment in the amount of P322,693,214.”

“The low rates of utilization of current year and continuing allotments indicate the DICT’s inability to maximize the utilization of the budget provided to it which could directly affect its delivery of services to the public,” it said.

The COA said the DICT was able to maximize the use of its allotments for employee services but it was able to obligate only 64.83 percent of its allotments for maintenance and other operating expenses and disbursed only 18.67 percent at the end of 2019.

It added that only 10.31 percent of its capital outlay allotments was obligated and a measly 6.23 percent was disbursed.

“In sum, only 47.77 percent of its current year allotments were obligated while 19.51 percent thereof were disbursed during the year which is considered a very low fund utilization rate,” the COA said.

According to state auditors, “a low allotment utilization rate would mean slow program/project implementation rate.”

In particular, the COA noted that the DICT had activated only 15 percent or 3,251 of the targeted 22,034 public hot spots by the end of 2019 under its five-year P6.7-billion free Wi-Fi program. This, it added, “substantially delayed the full realization of the intended benefit of providing free Wi-Fi access to the public.”

‘Pipol Konek’

The COA urged the DICT to deal with its project shortcomings “in order to cope with the internet needs of the country, especially in consideration of the ‘new normal.’”

Known as “Pipol Konek,” the DICT’s free Wi-Fi internet access in public places program was a directive of President Duterte in his first State of the Nation Address in 2016.

It was anchored on two laws: Republic Act No. 10844, or the DICT Act, signed by then President Benigno Aquino III in May 2016, and RA 10929, or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, signed by Mr. Duterte in 2017.

By 2019, the free Wi-Fi project had incurred a total cost of P6.7 billion of which P1.819 billion was through the DICT’s procurement contracts and P3.521 billion through the Philippine International Trading Corp. as procurement agent.

In its report, the COA uncovered several deficiencies in the program’s implementation, such as a low implementation rate of the procurement projects.

State auditors found that 22 of 30 contracts entered into by the DICT with suppliers were partially implemented, suspended or had yet to be implemented. This meant that out of 13,024 targeted hot spots under the DICT’s contracts, only 2,996 or 23 percent were activated. —With a report from Julie M. Aurelio