GOVERNMENT auditors have called out the management of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) in relation to its P347 million unutilized funding in 2021 representing 32.95 percent of its total appropriations for the year.
The audit team said the under-utilization of budget has been a recurrent problem of the state university from as far back as 2013.
In the last nine years, PLM has utilized only an average of 58.1 percent of its yearly appropriations and the problem has grown in the last four year.
From 2013 to 2017, the average unutilized budget stood at 38 percent. Auditors noted that this ballooned to 45 percent from 2018 to 2021.
In cash terms, PLM only incurred P4.682 billion in obligations from 2013 to 2021, leaving P3.376 billion unutilized.
“It is very concerning that the University was unable to effectively address its underspending over the years because it persisted in CY 2021… at 347.003 million or a third of the corresponding appropriation of P1.053 billion,” the Commission on Audit pointed out.
The PLM management disputed the audit findings, asserting that it had “undertaken sound budgeting, financial planning and procurement planning during the preparation of the University Budgets and Annual Procurement Plans (APP) from CYs 2018 to CY 2021.”
Auditors recommended that university officials should identify and address lapses in planning of activities and budgeting to improve PLM’s budget absorption capacity and delivery of programs.
Among the reasons noted by the audit was the tertiary school’s cancellation of hundreds of projects/programs/activities (PPAs) and delayed implementation of others.
Over the last four years, auditors listed 210 canceled PPAs with a combined budget of P494.98 million. Of these, PLM pulled the plug on 185 only in the last two years.
In addition, 181 PPAs with P440.24 million in total funding were also delayed between 2018 and 2021, including 93 in the last two years.
For 2021 alone, the audit team found 78 PPAs cancelled worth P99.59 million and 49 PPAs delayed worth P81.056 million.
Despite repeatedly being reminded to improve budget utilization, the COA observed little improvement.
“The chronic and significant budget underspending and PPAs cancellation are also indicative of lapses in programming, planning, and budgeting. Unfavorable past results should have been effectively addressed in the ensuing programming, planning and budgeting cycle,” the audit team said.
