DAVAO CITY, May 5 -- The Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) clarified that while it is true that there have been delays in the
implementation of the three foreign-assisted projects as pointed out in the COA
2013 Audit Report, it had already taken steps to address these.
Corrective measures initiated in 2012 achieved
results in 2014 thereby accelerating project implementation and completion: The
JICA-assisted Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project Phase III
(ARISP-III) has achieved a physical accomplishment of 95% while the
ADB-funded Agrarian Reform Communities Project 2 (ARCP 2) has a
physical accomplishment of 76% as of end of CY 2014.
The JICA-assisted ARISP-III involves the provision
of rural infrastructure in order to help raise income of agrarian reform
beneficiaries.
The DAR implements its project activities with
the assistance of the DPWH for roads and bridges and NIA for communal
irrigation projects. The Project is expected to be completed in August
2015.
The ADB-funded ARCP 2 is being implemented by
DAR with the assistance of the targeted local government units.
The Project commenced implementation in
2010. The delays in physical implementation were due mainly to the
difficulty of LGUs in complying with the 50-50 NG-LGU cost-sharing policy which
the DOF required in the past.
Measures have been undertaken to address the
slow implementation of the sub-projects and the low fund disbursement
rate. The Project has recruited Provincial Sub-Project Accountants to
assist LGUs in fund disbursement reporting to expedite succeeding fund releases
for the provincial sub-projects.
ARISP III and ARCP 2 are continuations of two previous
foreign-assisted projects by the JICA and ADB. Engineering consulting
services were procured during the initial phases of these projects, and
maintained for the continuations of these two projects.
The DAR has noted that the procurement of these
consulting services were not entirely in consonance with the Government
Procurement Reform Law (RA 9184). This oversight was corrected and the
Department is now seeing to it that further projects strictly follow the
Procurement Law.
The implementation of the JICA-assisted Mindanao
Sustainable Agrarian Assistance Development Project (MINSAAD) and the
Italian-assisted ARC Development Support Project were adversely affected by the
delays in the procurement of consulting services for project implementation.
DAR is now in the process of conducting the
procurement procedure for the contract of consulting services for MINSAAD after
two failed biddings.
In the case of the Italian-assisted project, the
DAR is now undertaking the procurement procedures for contract of consulting
services and goods.
Both projects take into consideration the
provisions of the Procurement Law and the provision of the financing agreement
between the Philippines and the Japanese and the Italian governments.
The DAR also noted that the audit report was for
the year 2013 and the Italian project became effective only on 27 August 2013.
(DAR/PR)
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