THE Office of the Vice President has spent only P130.7 million to help the poor in 2016, according to the Commission on Audit in a report.
The CoA said Vice President Leni Robredo was not able to fully spend the P220-million budget allocation for financial assistance.
The CoA report said the OVP showed poor or low absorptive capacity because of underspending that caused “undelivered services that could have benefited more indigents and underprivileged Filipinos.”
But such was not an isolated case, CoA said, adding that other government agencies had also experienced the same.
Despite this, CoA said, Robredo performed better in resource utilization for the first six months since her assumption into office in July 2016.
Out of the P130.7-million expenditure, 72 percent or P93.8 million went to the second half of 2016 from July 1 to Dec. 31.
The report said that if the OVP had fully used the remaining balance of P89,269,117.24, Robredo could have helped 3,500 cancer patients for their chemotherapy session at P25,000 each and 29,000 burials for a minimum of P3,000 each.
On the other hand, the OVP cited incomplete technical requirements, lack of manpower and transition period as among the reasons for the underspending.
