NINE years since the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) started the P350 million project to clear Manila’s waterways and esteros of informal settler families (ISFs), only P45.08 million has been used, according to an audit conducted by the Commission on Audit (COA).
In the 2022 report on the DILG, state auditors also noted that a parallel project with P278 million in funding to provide cash assistance to an estimated 15,000 ISFs, on the other hand, has used less than half of the available funding, leaving a P144.48 million balance.
The shelter project is being undertaken by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) while the cash assistance of P18,000 per ISF is being handled by the National Housing Authority (NHA).
“Analysis of the accounting records of the above-mentioned fund transfers to SHFC and NHA showed low percentage of utilization and the related projects remained uncompleted to date,” the audit team said.
In its letter to the DILG secretary dated October 12, 2022, the SHFC management said it has encountered “challenges and considerable delay” in the planned construction of micro-medium rise buildings (MMRBs) that were supposed to house the relocated ISFs.
On December 27, 2022, the DILG asked the Department of Budget and Management for guidance on the possible extension of the validity of the funds transferred to the SHFC until 2023.
On the other hand, validation of eligible ISF for the cash assistance was only extended until November 2022 after which the NHA informed the DILG that it will start processing liquidation of the P278 million.
Auditors urged the DILG to take steps to fast-track the completion of the MMRB shelters and the distribution of the Interim Shelter Fund to deserving beneficiaries.
The DILG informed the COA that it has secured the approval of the DBM for SHFC to continue with the shelter project and is now setting a timeline for the implementing agency to complete the project.
It added that the NHA distributed another P4.02 million to ISF households while P111.86 million was remitted back to the Bureau of Treasury as of the year end.
