Published May 11, 2021, 1:29 PM
As the Commission on Audit started releasing audit findings on the disbursement by government response funds to address the devastating effecs of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, state auditors flagged official expenditures of Tuguegarao City using funds released under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Bayanihan 1.
COA noted that aside from the procurement of “relief goods and meals and snacks under emergency cases,” the claims of hotels used as quarantine venues for individuals found positive for COVID-19 and as temporary dormitory for medical personnel and nurses of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center “appeared to be excessive.” The recently-released 2020 Annual Audit Report for Tuguegarao City may have recorded one of the earliest adverse audit findings on the use of government funds in the fight against the adverse effects of the 2019 corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.