LUMBER, plywood, metal roofing, and other construction materials donated by Ayala Corp for the rehabilitation of damaged homes of native Aetas in Pampanga were found stockpiled and unused in a warehouse owned by the provincial government.
This was disclosed in the 2022 audit report of the provincial government of Pampanga released last April 25.
State auditors said the donor corporation had hoped that the materials would be used to help restore normalcy in the lives of Aetas whose homes sustained damage during the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck Central Luzon on April 22, 2019.
“Tons of construction materials were found during our ocular inspection at the PEO (Provincial Engineer’s Office) Compound at Sindalan, City of San Fernando on July 7, 2022.
Three years have passed, and the donated materials still remain unused,” the audit team said.
Through inquiry with government personnel onsite, auditors were able to extract information about the source of the construction materials and who the intended recipients were.
“Said construction/building materials were donated by Ayala Corporation when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the province of Pampanga in April 2019. The construction materials were intended for the rehabilitation of several Aeta houses affected by the said earthquake,” the Commission on Audit said.
Reacting to the audit observation, the Provincial Engineer’s Office told the audit team that the stockpiled materials are already being utilized.
However, instead of building houses, the donated materials were used for the fabrication of furniture that will go to the Aeta Community Village at Babo Pangulo in Porac, Pampanga.
In the province’s report of accomplishments as of yearend 2022, it also reported having turned over 77 units of houses to Aeta beneficiaries who were displaced by the 2019 quake.
Other than construction materials, auditors also uncovered expensive hospital equipment that were lying idle in various health care centers in the province estimated to have a combined value of over P3 million.
Among the equipment found were a P1.1 million anesthesia machine and a P580,000 bio-safety cabinet both located at the Escolastica District Hospital, as well as a P988,000 autoclave sterilizer 350L at the Mabalacat District Hospital.
There was also a fully automated autoclave machine at the San Luis District Hospital and an oxygen concentrator at the Escolastica District Hospital both with no price indicated.
“These properties were either stored at the garage, stockroom, under hospital beds, or unused corridors. Although these are donated properties with no cost in the books of the province, still government funds were utilized in the procurement thereof. Moreover, these properties should sere their intended purpose,” the COA said.
