GOVERNMENT auditors have called out the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over the discovery of contamination and infestation found in food packs intended for distribution to disaster-stricken residents in Region 13 (Caraga).
On the other hand, the DSWD-Field Office 5 (Bicol Region) was flagged for improper monitoring of the distribution of welfare goods during calamities after the audit team found that almost half a million family food packs (FFPs) and close to 30,000 non-food items (NFIs) could not be accounted for.
The 2023 audit of DSWD released December 18, 2024 revealed that P5.25 million worth of food packages received by DSWD Field Office 13 (Caraga) did not comply with the specific conditions set in the contract agreement with supplier Bodeguita Enterprises and Services.
Under the August 2023 contract, the supplier was required to provide 8,000 pre-paced FFPs for stockpiling at P656.10 per pack. Each pack was supposed to contain two three-kilogram packs of premium commercial rice in vacuum-sealed bags, four cans of corned beef, two tin cans of sardines, four tins of canned tuna flakes in oil, five sachets of 3-in-1 instant coffee, and five sachets of powdered cereal drink.
Deliveries were made on several batches from August 29 to September 14, 2023.
But an inspection conducted by the audit team on September 12, 2023 showed rice bags improperly vacuum-sealed, dented canned goods, leaky cans, canned goods without expiry dates, cans with detached labels, and worse, worms were found in some of the boxes.
While the defective packs were subsequently replaced, auditors said this was not done promptly since the supplier did not provide buffer items for standby replacement upon delivery.
A second inspection on September 25, 2023 showed the problems were still not addressed as 16 out of 22 boxes sampled at random (64 percent) were found still non-compliant with the contract specifications.
“This revealed that there is a higher probability of non-compliant/defective food packs for the unopened food packs,” the COA warned.
Another joint inspection of the procured and augmented family food packs conducted by the audit team, the inspection committee, the warehouse personnel, and a representative of the DSWD Property Unit uncovered more issues.
Auditors reported the absence of a DSWD personnel to oversee the packaging process for control and compliance; lack of notations on the Inspection and Acceptance Report (IAR) about deficiencies noted; and conflicting responses from warehouse personnel about the frequency of inspections of the stored food packs.
A sampling of 210 augmented food packs showed even more problems with all rice stocks in bags not vacuum sealed; only poor-quality cellophane bags were used; almost 30 percent of rice bags showed infestation by weevil (bukbok); and around 10 percent of canned goods were dented.
“Given these observations…, there was improper safekeeping and compromised quality of the food packs, which if left unresolved, would harm consuming beneficiaries,” the COA said.
The Regional Director of DSWD FO 13 agreed with the recommendation of the auditors to put in place stricter processes in the inspection and storage of food packs as well as the imposition of sanctions against a non-compliant supplier.
Among the penalties agreed upon were rejection of the delivery or blacklisting of the contractor “due to unsatisfactory or inferior quality goods.”
In DSWSD FO 5, the audit team said it was doubtful if the welfare goods reached the intended beneficiaries due to failure to observe the distribution monitoring procedures.
A cross-checking of the monitoring records of the Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD) based on the relief distribution sheet (RDS) revealed that close to half a million food packs were released without records.
“Verification of the reported issuances vis-a-vis the monitoring of the DRMD of the RDS disclosed that only 26,610 units out of 505,500 family food packs and 100 units out of 29,485 NFIs issued have a corresponding RDS,” the audit team said.
The DRMD chief appealed for understanding, citing great urgency in providing relief assistance to affected families so that requests for augmentations could not be delayed.
In addition, he admitted that a shortage of manpower has made monitoring and recording difficult.
Likewise, the COA sought an explanation from the DRMD chief regarding the release of 557 family food packs to the PNP in December 2023, noting that there was no rule allowing the augmentation of food packs through the PNP.
“The DRMD Chief was not able to provide the legal basis for such issuance. Moreover, it was noted that some warehouses in FO V have a disorganized piling system, rodent infestation resulting in eventual spoilage, and incidence of theft,” the audit team said.
