COA holds Pampanga foundation liable for unimplemented P242.5-M agri project

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The accused parties fail to present sufficient documentation that would prove the legality of the fund releases

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) denied a petition from a Pampanga-based foundation seeking to be cleared of liability for a P242.5-million agricultural project that was never implemented.

The COA En Banc, in its ten-page decision released last week, said that the Infinite Community Integrated Development Support Foundation Inc. (ICIDSFI) in Angeles City failed to prove that it successfully implemented a project that sought to produce and distribute materials, including organic fertilizers, for rubber planting in Mindanao. 

According to records, the funding was released in four tranches under the Department of Agriculture between 2008 and 2009, through the former government-owned or controlled corporation ZNAC Rubber Estate Corporation (ZREC), which was eventually abolished under then-president Benigno Aquino III.

The COA held former ZREC president Salvador Salacup, ZREC treasurer Eduardo Nolasco, and ICIDSFI president Glenn Santos liable. The appeal was filed with the COA by lawyer Darwin Reyes, corporate secretary of ICIDSFI. 

ICIDSFI claimed that they paid suppliers for the deliveries of rubber seedlings and other materials, but state auditors found that the official receipts can be traced to a single booklet. 

COA also found insufficient documentation related to farmer beneficiaries, as well other documents that prove the legality of the fund releases, which they are required to have under the law. Delivery receipts, certificates of acceptance, and inspection reports that could have confirmed the project’s implementation were also missing.

“The existence of the claims against government funds cannot be validated because ICIDSFI did not submit the list of fanners with signatures indicating that they attended the trainings conducted,” COA said. 

“Basic is the rule that in the conduct of the seminars to farmer beneficiaries, ICIDSFI is required to submit attendance sheets with complete signatures of farmer beneficiaries,” the commission pointed out,” it added.

The COA En Banc has directed that the audit records be forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation and potential filing of criminal charges against the officials involved in the transfer and processing of DA funds.  – Rappler.com