THE tax reform law has affected the implementation of various projects of the public education system in Pampanga, according to the Commission on Audit.
Only P5.805 million worth of projects involving construction and repair of school buildings bankrolled by the special education fund of Pampanga province were completed in 2017 despite a P131.11-million allocation, the agency said.
In an April 17 report, CoA said “the allotment for the construction/repair of schools, as of December 31, 2017, incurred an obligation amounting to P87,628,250.83 for schools. However, upon verification only one has been completed at the cost of P5,805,000 equivalent to an accomplishment rate of 4.43 percent of the total P131,110,000 allotment.”
In money terms, the P81.83-million funding set aside for 21 projects was no longer enough.
“Our validation showed that the unimplemented projects were returned for the adjustment of cost in the program of works due to the Tax Reform Acceleration Inclusion Law which was signed by the President on December 19, 2017,” CoA’s report read.
“The bidding for 21 projects was deferred due to price adjustment as a result of the implementation of the TRAIN Law and provision of fire exits and other requirements of the Bureau of Fire Protection, thus implementation will be in 2018,” the audit team said, quoting the province’s education official.
Bureaucratic gridlock also took its toll on the projects as CoA pointed out the program of works was already submitted to the provincial budget officer as early as August 2017, or at least three
“As it turned out, according to the provincial budget office, the allotment for the construction and maintenance of school was in lump sum without the corresponding supporting breakdown estimate for each of the 25 projects,” the audit team said.
“Consequently, the students who were the primary beneficiaries of the use of the special education fund were deprived of the early enjoyment of the benefits from the priority projects… such as the construction of classrooms and school buildings and procurement of equipment as well as the provision of instructional materials,” it added.