The Commission on Audit has chided the Department of Tourism's Intramuros Administration for the delayed implementation of an P18-million branding campaign project dubbed “Promise and Possibilities in Intramuros” in 2016.
In an annual financial audit, CoA said the IA sat on the P18-billion budget for two years.
Calling the attention of the IA, state auditors flagged it twice in 2016 and 2017.
At the end of 2017, only P450,112 out of the P18 million had been utilized by the IA to buy 30 memo pads with the Intramuros logo, six boxes of file envelopes and bond papers with the same Intramuros logo.
A portion of the money was also used to mount an exhibit of El Museo del Prado En Filipinos.
The DoT gave the IA an P18-million budget to fund the project Promise and Possibilities in Intramuros in January 2016 in a bid to attract business operators to invest in the walled city.
"It is projected that an increase in tourism investments in Intramuros will generate substantial growth in tourism revenues and employment, directly benefiting the local communities, while incentivizing the revitalization of its surrounding environs and the entire City of Manila,” the audit report read.
The branding campaign was supposed to be completed in September 2016, by the end of the year, only 1.97 percent of the total budget was spent on the memo pads and bond papers, one printer, a Christmas display and a printer.
In 2017, the branding campaign was revised with new breakdowns and components.
“It was noted that the creative process on the production of materials and preparation of documents required for the procurement process had just been started on the last quarter of [2017] upon the receipt of the approved revised project components by the Secretary of DoT,” the report stated.
On Oct. 6, 2017, the IA came out with a new blueprint of the branding campaign.
According to CoA, “despite the availability of funds, none of the project components were completed/accomplished as at year-end."
The IA had failed to pursue the project amid CoA's appeal and the availability of the funds.
The audit report showed the project was only able to produce memo pads and bond papers at the end of 2017.
None of the project components— P6.83 million for events and special projects, P4.5 million for branding materials, P3 million for an online campaign, P2 million for walking tour brochures and maps and P765,887.81 for other print materials—were achieved.