COA: BFAR boats poorly maintained

The Commission on Audit (COA) has found that some patrol boats of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) could not be used due to poor maintenance caused by lack of funding, while other vessels were misused for tourism activities.

In its 2017 annual audit report, the COA urged the BFAR to  monitor the local government’s use of patrol boats and provide adequate budget for their immediate repair.

The COA found that of the 14 fisheries management patrol vessels for monitoring, control and surveillance, seven had no operational navigational and communications equipment.

Compromised

The vessels were procured in 2001.

Auditors pointed out that the safety of the crew conducting  surveillance operations in the high seas “may be compromised or at risk.”

“Any distress signals cannot be received/sent as the VHF/UHF all mode transceivers were not operational. In case the operating auxiliary machinery had bogged down during the operations, their mission will not be pursued, as there was no available [boat],” the COA said.

On the practical side, the COA pointed out that the failure to spend on the boats’ maintenance would only put to waste the loan payments made by the government.

The COA report also assessed the status of 43 patrol boats procured from 2009 to 2011 under the United States’ Public Law 480 program.

Used for tourism

The US government funded the boats’ acquisition  for local governments’ food security.

But five of these boats were used for tourism activities, aside from their original purpose of enforcing fishery laws and conducting coastal resource management activities. The COA did not identify the local governments that  misused the boats.

Auditors said this was “contrary” to the memorandum of agreement’s provision requiring the beneficiary local governments to use the boats “exclusively” for activities related to fishery laws, coastal resource management and disaster relief operations.

The COA also found that four local governments — Dipaculao, Aurora; Alegria, Cebu; Badian, Cebu; and Tagum City, Davao del Norte — could not use the boats due to lack of funds to operate and maintain them.

The municipalities of Dipaculao and Alegria turned over the boats to the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport and the Cebu provincial government since they could not be used.