BACOLOD City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) has rejected a proposed resolution seeking a special or fraud audit by the Commission on Audit (COA) of the ongoing P765-million legislative building project, with majority of the councilors saying that construction delays alone do not establish fraud or irregularities.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Homer Bais, sought to request COA Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba to conduct a special or fraud audit of the legislative building, one of 17 infrastructure projects funded through the city’s P4.171-billion loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Councilor Caesar Distrito said the measure failed to secure majority approval, noting that the city government is already covered by regular COA audits through its resident city auditor.
He stressed that COA has the authority to determine the scope, methods and extent of its examinations, including whether circumstances warrant a special or fraud audit.
Distrito also cautioned against treating the reported construction delays as automatic evidence of fraud, saying authorities must first consider possible approved time extensions, suspension orders and other justifiable reasons for the project’s slow progress.
“Progress billings do not necessarily mean overpayment,” he said, emphasizing the need for sufficient factual grounds before seeking a fraud audit.
Bais, however, cited a joint committee report dated October 22, 2026, which placed the project’s completion at 51.19% as of October, with a negative slippage of 48.81%.
He said the reported slippage exceeded the 15% threshold under Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, and COA Circular No. 2012-001.
The project was awarded to a joint venture of companies on September 20, 2023, with its groundbreaking held on December 4 of the same year. It originally had a target completion date of June 2025 under an 18-month contract.
Bais raised concerns over the release of payments and progress billings despite the reported delays, citing possible overpayment, overbilling, inaccurate statements of work accomplished and the unproductive use of loan proceeds as grounds for an independent audit.
The proposed resolution covered not only the legislative building but also the other 16 infrastructure projects financed through the DBP loan.
Distrito questioned the broader scope of the measure, pointing out that the concerns raised primarily involved the legislative building.
He clarified that opposing the resolution did not mean the council was against transparency and accountability.
“Our position is simple: We support auditing and accountability, but we should not prematurely equate project delays with fraud or make conclusions of irregularity without sufficient factual basis,” Distrito said.
He also cited the city’s MassKara Coliseum project, which took seven years and remains unfinished, as an example of a delayed project that was given an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding its implementation.
“If we had given a seven-year MassKara Coliseum project which until now had not been finished, a chance to explain, why not in this case?” he asked.
“Let us let the city mayor, City Engineer’s Office and the executive exercise their functions and hear their reasons first before going into this. Fraud audit should be the last resort,” he added.
Distrito said three SP committees had already reviewed the DBP-funded infrastructure projects and submitted a partial committee report.
He emphasized that the council’s rejection of the resolution would not prevent COA from conducting a special or fraud audit should the commission independently determine that such an examination is warranted./PN
