Iloilo City claims 99.1% action rate on COA audit findings

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo City government said it has taken “substantial action” on the findings and recommendations of the Commission on Audit (COA), including those in the agency’s 2025 audit report.

The city government said its Agency Action Plan and Status of Implementation (AAPSI) report recorded a 99.1% “positive action rate” on audit recommendations covering 2025 and the previous years from 2020 to 2024.

It said 63.5% of the recommendations had been fully implemented, while 35.7% had been partially implemented, with corrective actions ongoing.

The remaining 0.9% had yet to be implemented, it added.

“This means substantial action has been taken,” it said in a statement Wednesday.

The city government also said it recorded 100% implementation of tracked action items involving procurement compliance, engineering transparency, and gender and development attributions in social welfare programs.

Daily Guardian could not independently verify the city government’s reported implementation rates.

COA conducts annual audits of local government units and issues audit reports containing its observations and recommendations for correcting deficiencies in the handling of public funds.

COA’s audit observations and recommendations are monitored through the AAPSI, which audited agencies — in this case, the Iloilo City government — submit to report their actions on audit findings and recommendations.

The AAPSI classifies recommendations according to their implementation status: fully implemented, partially implemented, and not implemented.

The AAPSI does not include percentage action rates.

As of Aug. 27, the AAPSI covering the 2025 audit cycle listed 61 specific recommendations.

Of these, 38 had been fully implemented, while 23 were partially implemented. None was classified as not implemented.

Twelve of the partially implemented recommendations were noted as ongoing under administrative review.

The overall AAPSI report, which includes recommendations carried over from audit observations covering calendar years 2020 to 2024, listed 109 recommendations.

Of these, 66 had been fully implemented, while 42 were partially implemented. One recommendation remained unimplemented.

The outstanding recommendation concerns the establishment of a secure storage facility for duplicate copies of accountable forms under a 2023 audit observation.

Delayed RPT shares of barangays

In its 2025 audit report, COA found that PHP 218.559 million in barangay shares from real property tax (RPT) collections remained unreleased as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, barangays are entitled to a 30% share of the basic real property tax collected by the city within their territorial jurisdiction.

The law requires these shares to be released directly to barangay treasurers within five days after the end of each quarter.

COA noted that the delay deprived barangays of funds intended to support basic public services and community development projects.

The city government said it is now working to complete bank reconciliations, finalize an e-payment agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for barangay RPT shares, and submit dormant-account write-off requests with supporting documents.

The city government also said the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) had prepared checks for some barangays, but these remained unclaimed because the barangays concerned had yet to submit the required receipts.

The CTO continues to issue notices and conduct follow-ups while pursuing the direct crediting of funds to barangay accounts, the city government said.

The city government assured the public that it takes the management of public funds seriously.

“We continue to correct and strengthen our systems so that every peso spent from the government coffers is properly used and benefits the Ilonggos,” it added.