THE National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) had P34.046 million under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) fund in 2022 but spent only P363,556.26 or only 1.06 percent of available funding during the year.
As the government’s coordinating and advisory agency for the implementation of the Social Reform Agenda, the NAPC is considered a vital part of the peace-building initiative especially in conflict-affected and vulnerable communities.
However, the Commission on Audit noted that the agency’s low utilization of the NTF-ELCAC funds means it was not able to undertake programs and activities to attain the task force’s objectives.
The audit team said the NAPC had P14.433 million in continuing appropriations from 2021 and received an additional P19.613 million during the year.
But auditors said agency officials were mostly involved in the conduct of Multi-Sectoral Forum/Consultations on Poverty Reduction Programs and Sectoral Unification Capacity Building Empowerment and Mobilization (SUCBEM) activities in different regions.
The audit team said NAPC’s spending went to travel expenses totaling P195,928.84 and representation expenses amounting to P167,627.42.
“We recommended and management agreed to instruct the Committee on NTF-ELCAC activities to maximize utilization of funds to benefit the intended beneficiaries,” the COA said.
NAPC officials explained that low utilization of available budget was attributable to changes in the Secretariat function, prohibition of multi-sector gatherings during the election period, and the decision of designated officers-in-charge in the agency not to enter into new contracts and projects.
