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MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday pointed at the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 election ban as among the causes for its incomplete projects that the Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged.
To recall, a COA report on Monday showed that 33 out of 47 flood control projects worth P825 million were not implemented by the MMDA, also flagging over 71 unregistered vehicles.
According to MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Don Artes in a statement on Tuesday, however, the flooded foreign-assisted projects failed to finish on time due to factors involving the pandemic and the election ban.
Artes explained that the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have financed the 33 projects under the Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP) Phase 1 that have not yet been fully implemented as of December 2022.
READ: $500-M METRO Manila flood control project OK’d
Artes pointed out that the procurement process is different from the typical early procurement process under Republic Act 9184 because it is a project with foreign assistance.
“The projects underwent a tedious process and discussion with the World Bank before they were approved and implemented,” Artes said.
He went on to say that the WB was heavily involved in the process, from bidding to project redesign to contract extension and coverage expansion.
The projects were supposed to be completed between 2018-2022 when the global pandemic occurred, while the election ban halted some projects.
Out of the 47 projects included in the COA report, Artes said the MMDA has 27 finished projects, 12 ongoing projects, 3 undergoing procurement, and five scrapped due to no longer being required or relevant.
71 unregistered vehicles already junk
Meanwhile, Artes said that the 71 unregistered vehicles flagged by COA without a Land Transportation Office (LTO) registration are already set to be disposed of by the agency as junk.
“The disposal process is long and we are currently disassembling its parts so we can use it for our serviceable vehicles,” Artes said.
Furthermore, Artes also stated that the 216 vehicles COA found to be older than the seven-year useful lifespan for government service vehicles are still in good working order and are carefully maintained.
Artes acknowledged that the service vehicles he and other agency employees are already beyond their lifespan but are not to be retired or replaced due to still being in excellent working condition. Bea Delariarte, INQUIRER.net trainee