DOH flagged over P43-B unused funds in 2018
The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Department of Health (DOH) over its failure to utilize P42.615 billion of its appropriated budget for 2018, including funds intended for its nine major health programs.
Based on its annual audit report, DOH received a total budget allocation of P109.491 billion last year and obligated 94.34 percent or P103.295 billion of it for various programs, projects and activities.
However, only 61.08 percent or P66.876 billion was actually disbursed, leaving a balance of P42.615 billion.
“Despite the satisfactory high rate (of) obligations, it cannot be denied that the low disbursement over allotment rate reflected that the utilization of funds was not fully maximized and programs and projects were not fully accomplished nor delivered to the intended beneficiaries/recipients,” the COA report read.
The audit body pointed out that the high obligation rate of the appropriated fund cannot be used to measure the accomplishment of an office as “obligations are only valid commitments based on the awarded contracts/purchase orders, where goods are not yet delivered and projects are not yet started.”
It noted that of the DOH’s total budget allocation, 51.67 percent or P54.809 billion was allotted for its nine major health programs, of which 91.70 percent was already obligated but only 36.49 percent was actually disbursed.
The audit body specifically noted that no amount was disbursed by the DOH for its Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program in 2018 even if 61.05 percent of the fund was already obligated.
“It can be presumed that none of the planned activities under this program was carried out,” the COA said.
Another program with remarkably low fund utilization was the Family Health Program with only 0.75 percent disbursement, notwithstanding its 61.76 percent obligation over allotment rate.
The other health programs identified in the audit report as having low disbursement over allotment rate were the mitigation of non-communicable diseases (5.14 percent), rabies control (6.65 percent), prevention and control of infectious disease (11.02 percent), national immunization (15.63 percent), health facilities enhancement program (32.66 percent), elimination of infectious diseases (40.98 percent).
Only one program – the Human Resource for Health Deployment – posted an above average disbursement rate at 88.84 percent.
Although the specific amount of fund obligated and disbursed for each program was not indicated in the audit report, COA noted that the DOH has been remiss in utilizing its funds for major health programs for two consecutive years, as it cited that only 40.19 percent was disbursed of the P60.725 billion allocated budget for health programs in 2017.