THE Commission on Audit has urged the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to compel various government agencies to pay their long outstanding receivables totaling P2.768 billion as of December 31, 2020.
Of the said amount, government auditors said P2.349 billion is payable by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) but has not been settled since 2014.
“Receivables from the DPWH amounting to P2.349 billion relates to the sale of PRA lots affected by the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway Project per Memorandum of Agreement between PRA and DPWH dated December 23, 2014,” the audit team explained.
Aside from DPWH, the PRA also has receivables from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in the sum of P187.397 million dating back to 2003 due to its participation in the Heritage Park Project. The PRA has petitioned the Department of Justice for arbitration regarding its claim.
The COA said when sought for confirmation, the BCDA said it has no record of any payable due the PRA.
Other outstanding receivables include P116.83 million from R-1 Consortium recorded way back in 1991 involving “unpaid supervision fees” in relation to the Central Business Park B and C and R-1 Expressway Toll projects; P66.37 million from Pasay City government from 2003 as value-added tax on properties conveyed to the city as settlement of PRA’s property tax obligations; P35 million from the Bureau of the Treasury pertaining to amount advanced by the PRA to the municipality of San Simon, Pampanga for the cost of filling materials used in a housing project; P7.13 million loans by former PRA officials; and P5.64 million from the Privatization Management Office (PMO) pertaining to advanced payment for security services in the Financial Center Area in Pasay City paid out by the PRA.
Both the Pasay City government and the PMO did not recognize the claims of receivables by the PRA.
“Had the PRA collected the overdue receivables from various debtors, PRA could have invested the collections in a high-yield money placement earlier and could have earned interest therefrom,” the COA pointed out.
The PRA management said it has sent a formal billing statement to the DPWH dated March 16, 2021 and based on a meeting with department officials on May 25, 2021, the agency is recognizing the claim for compensation and has included a request for inclusion of the amount in its 2022 national expenditure program.
On the P116.83 million receivable from R-1 Consortium, the PRA said it has sent follow up letters to the contractor but has not received any response.
