IT was late by a full decade but the municipal government of Daraga, Albay now stands to collect a P3.77 million reimbursement from the Department of Health for implementing a women’s health program in 2009.
In a decision released last week, the Commission on Audit partially granted Daraga’s petition for money claim seeking its share of the performance-based grant (PBG) and facility-based childbirth (FBC) reward under the DOH’s $16 million Second Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Project (2WHSMP) implemented from 2009 to 2012.
COA chairman Michael G. Aguinado and Commissioners Jose A. Fabia and Roland Pondoc signed the decision.
Under the program, the local government’s Women Health Team gets a P1,000 cash reward for every indigent mother referred and assisted in health facility for obstetrics and new-born care while the mother gets P500 for childbirth-related expenses.
Likewise, grants were extended to LGUs that exceed their yearly PhilHealth enrollment targets and for initiatives to support the poor and underserved households’ access to contraceptives.
The COA noted that the municipality of Daraga implemented the 2WHSMP, carrying out the FBC-PBG activities as well as the wider enrollment of poor families in PhilHealth.
However, the local government did not receive grants due it under the DOH program because the allotment expired as the processing of the PBG contract met delays.
In all, Daraga claimed reimbursement of P4.709 million under FBC and another P3.767 million under the PBG.
Its claim was endorsed to the DOH by the Provincial Health Office of Albay which in turn sought approval by the DOH Secretary.
In 2013, the Department of Budget and Management granted the DOH authority to utilize current year’s allotment to pay the obligations incurred under the health program.
The DOH-Health Policy Finance and Research Development Cluster requested COA’s validation of the proposed payment of the unbooked obligations and was advised to inform claimants to file petitions for money claim.
“The claim for PBG relative to the support to LGU enrollment of poor families in the PhilHealth has been validated by the COA Audit Team and the amount of P3,766,800 has been substantiated by supporting document,” the COA said.
