THE municipality of Mamasapano in Maguindanao has earned praises from government auditors for mobilizing resources and manpower to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic even before seeing its first case.
In the 2020 audit released last April 16, the Commission on Audit noted that the municipal government under Mayor Akmad Ampatuan Jr. promptly realigned P4 million from its 20 percent Development Fund for COVID-19 Response program and activities.
The move was in compliance with the Department of Interior and Local Government — Department of Budget and Management (DILG-DBM) Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 dated March 27, 2020 urging local government units to make advanced preparations for the pandemic.
“During the year …P4,000,000 was realigned for disaster preparedness, response and efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to continue to provide basic services. We commend the management for its action on the said crisis,” the audit team said.
Based on the joint memorandum circular the LGU was empowered to use the sum for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE); medicines, disinfectants and other hospital supplies and equipment; erecting testing and isolation centers; and provision of relief supplies to affected residents.
Under the Bayanihan Grant for Cities and Municipalities (BGCM), the municipality received P7.7 million equivalent to its one month share from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).
Government auditors noted that Mamasapano created a special account in the General Funds (SAGF) to properly account for the Bayanihan Fund in compliance with the rules.
Based on the breakdown of expenses, P5 million went to relief operations for all households in the municipality, P759,411 for the procurement of medicine and vitamins for minors, P435,840 for food allowance of medical personnel, and the rest for the training of disaster response personnel.
All these the municipal government accomplished without deviating from procurement rules.
“The municipality was able to fully utilize the BGCM Funds having a utilization rate of 10 percent. We have post-audited the disbursement vouchers and noted that all disbursements were adequately supported to establish their propriety,” the COA noted.
