JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the series of community quarantines due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delayd in the department’s procurement process but added the agency has a high utilization rate of its 2020 budget.
In its audit report, the Commission on Audit said that while the DOJ used P8.27 billion or 96.88 percent of its P8.5 billion funding last year, one of the highest among national government agencies, P226 million or 3.12 percent was not utilized.
The amount is allocated to personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses and projects for capital outlay.
COA said two of the projects under capital outlay not partly implemented by the DOJ were the construction of a Justice building in Davao City worth P50 million and the acquisition of service vehicles worth almost P4 million.
Guevarra said the department has already made an explanation to COA.
“The DOJ has explained to the COA that its inability to utilize fully its appropriations for capital outlay in 2020 was caused mainly by delays in the procurement process occasioned by the series of community quarantines,” Guevarra said.
“Nevertheless, the DOJ is presently maximizing the utilization of allotments by speeding up the implementation of projects planned for the rest of the year, and cascading available resources to its regional prosecution and other allied offices,” he added.
Several government agencies hogged the headlines in recent days after they were flagged by the COA for alleged deficiencies in using their budget.
The Department of Health was flagged for P11.89 unused COVID-19 response funds and the more than P3 billion in unused funds allotted to the Department of Labor and Employment.
