Quezon Gov. Danilo Suarez on Thursday said the Commission on Audit may have been looking for non-existent anti-COVID-19 funds in its 2019 report on the province.
A COA 2019 report said COVID response funds of the province of Quezon were “missing.”
“To be clear and factual, the cited report is based on a COA report for year-end 2019. COVID is a 2020 phenomenon for Quezon and the Philippines. In 2019, no COVID response funds were released by the province, as there were no recorded cases at that time,” Suarez said.
He said the P102,131,89.29 that was cited in the report were for ongoing projects that have yet to be completed, and thus final liquidation cannot be done yet.
Suarez said these refer “to ongoing projects in local government units and the province, funded by various national government agencies, that are awaiting completion. This is a matter of course, as on-going projects have to await completion prior to final liquidation.”
In addition, Suarez said the slow vaccination rate in the province also mentioned in the COA report was due to the provincial government’s lack of funds.
“Mention has also been made regarding the slow vaccine rate in the province. Much as we’d like to hire more vaccinators, because of the budget that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan reenacted despite the dire needs of the times, we are limited and cannot hire new employees,” the governor said.