COA flags idle Super Health Center in Barotac Viejo

ILOILO CITY — A Super Health Center in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, built with nearly PHP 10 million from the Department of Health (DOH), was still unused more than 18 months after it was declared complete, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

In its 2025 annual audit report on the municipality, COA said the facility was non-functional. Doors, windows, plumbing, electrical works, and other components needed to operate it were left out of the funded scope of work.

Super Health Centers are DOH-funded primary care facilities meant to bring outpatient, birthing, laboratory, and other basic health services closer to communities, particularly those far from hospitals.

The Barotac Viejo project was funded under the DOH’s Health Facility Enhancement Program 2023. Its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) provided for PHP 10 million to be transferred to the local government unit (LGU) in two tranches.

The DOH Center for Health Development–Western Visayas released PHP 7 million on Dec. 7, 2023. It released PHP 2,984,498.31 on May 14, 2025, bringing total transfers to PHP 9,984,498.31.

Late start, unsupported suspensions

Under the MOA, the project should have been executed within 90 calendar days of the first tranche’s release, or on or before March 6, 2024.

Construction began only on May 27, 2024, with an original contract duration of 120 calendar days.

Three suspension orders citing bad weather, including Typhoon Butchoy and Tropical Depression Carina, extended the project by 52 calendar days.

COA said no reports from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) or equivalent documents were presented to support the suspensions.

Complete on paper

The project was reported complete on Oct. 12, 2024. The MOA required the LGU to make the facility functional within three months of completion, or by January 2025.

A Final Completion Inspection Report showed 100% completion. However, COA’s ocular inspection on May 4 found the building non-functional and not being used for its intended purpose.

Photos in the audit report show an empty shell of bare concrete hollow blocks with no interior partitions, windows, or visible utility installations.

Budget gap

COA said the complete Program of Works for a functional Super Health Center was estimated at PHP 16,098,981, or about PHP 16.1 million.

The Program of Works attached to the MOA was worth only PHP 9,993,852.40. It covered general requirements, earthworks, structural works, masonry, and roofing.

Left out were doors and windows, ceiling and partitions, finishes, plumbing, electrical works, and auxiliary works. Under the complete program, these items were estimated at about PHP 6.2 million.

COA said the funded project therefore did not cover the complete and operational facility contemplated under the MOA and sketch plans, contributing to the building’s non-functionality.

Auditors also noted that the sketch plan attached to the disbursement voucher showed a complete and operational health facility, including the prescribed façade and identification features.

Broader finding

The health center was part of a COA finding covering PHP 15.984 million in fund transfers to Barotac Viejo that were not used or implemented in line with their MOAs, contrary to COA Circular No. 94-013.

The finding also covered PHP 6 million from the Iloilo Provincial Government for a multipurpose building and a water system at San Juan Elementary School. Under their MOAs, both projects should have been finished by December 2025.

The multipurpose building was completed on March 12, beyond the prescribed period. The water system was only 62.87% complete as of May 15.

“Due to delays in project implementation and the non-operationalization of the projects, contrary to the provisions of the MOA, the objectives of the fund transfers were not fully achieved, and the intended facilities, health services, and corresponding benefits were not delivered to the target beneficiaries within the expected timeframe,” COA said.

COA communicated the finding to municipal officials through Audit Observation Memorandum No. 2026-16 (2025), dated May 22.