Half of NKTI supplies ‘missing’ – COA

National Kidney and Transplant Institute (PHOTO RELEASE)

MANILA — The Commission on Audit has found that P146.94 million worth of supplies of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute—or almost half its stock—has gone unaccounted for as it flagged the sloppiness in keeping track of items.

According to the CoA’s 2016 audit report on the state-run hospital, a physical inventory of the warehouse and the end-users’ stockroom only yielded items totaling P151.05 million, or just half the P297.99-million supplies listed in its books.

Nearly all of the missing items are pharmaceutical drugs and medical, surgical and laboratory items, which are valued at P143.35 million.

The CoA observed weaknesses in NKTI’s way of keeping track of the supplies. It flagged the lack of checks and balances, haphazard record-keeping, and a rather roundabout manner of documentation from one section to another.

For one, the CoA said that only one person has been maintaining the stock card, which has opened the hospital to the “risk that the quantity of issued supplies in the RIS [requisition and issue slip] could be padded to conceal inventory shortage.”

The lack of proper documentation of accountabilities has also made “difficult and tedious the ongoing reconciliation process,” the report stated.

Auditors said they were not provided a copy of the Inspection and Acceptance Report that would have contained information on the inventories received by the Material Management Inventory Division.

They also learned that rejected items were returned to the supplier without proper documentation and thus did not appear in the computerized inventory. The CoA said this has prevented the hospital from filing timely claims for the replacement of rejected deliveries or liquidation of damages.

The same audit report has also revealed that NKTI still has idle funds totaling P135.87-million, which were left over from the Priority Development Assistance Fund proceeds of congressmen to be allotted for indigent patients.

Since the Supreme Court in November 2013 ruled the pork barrel fund to be unconstitutional, the NKTI has opted not to touch the dormant allotments sourced from 265 legislators, 67 of whom are incumbent.

The CoA, however, said NKTI should seek guidance from the Department of Budget and Management so the unexpended funds could still be utilized.

“As of reporting date, the Institute did not request an authorization from the DBM for the continuous utilization of the PDAF funds of legislators to benefit indigent patients,” the COA noted.  SFM/rga