MANILA - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Wednesday said the delays in several of its flood control projects which were flagged by the Commission on Audit were due to the pandemic.

According to the COA in its latest annual report, the MMDA failed to complete 33 out of 47 flood control projects worth more than P825 million by December 31, 2022.

The timeline of the projects was supposed to be from 2018 to 2022.

• COA to MMDA: Expedite delayed P825.38-M flood control projects

MMDA chair Don Artes said the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, affected the projects.

“Mahigit 2 taon po tayong nasa pandemya at wala namang halos nagawa yung ating mga contractors during those periods,” said Artes.

“Kaya meron doong findings na nagpa-extend yung mga contractors, suppliers, consultants ng period para matapos,” he added.

Artes also noted that the procurement process for the projects is more tedious since part of the funding comes from the World Bank.

“Alam po ng lahat ng ahensiya 'yan na nagpapatupad ng foreign-assisted project, particularly (a) World Bank project, na mas mahirap ang implementation kasi simula sa project conceptualization, terms of reference, shortlisting ng bidding, bidding itself, pati pag awarding, every step of the way, ikinukuha ng approval (ng World Bank),” he said.

Besides the pandemic, Artes said the election bans in 2019 and 2022 also contributed to the delay in the implementation of the projects.

The MMDA said it has finished 27 out of the 47 flood control projects mentioned in the COA report. Twelve are ongoing while three are still at the procurement phase.

The remaining 5 were discontinued after they were deemed unnecessary by the MMDA upon reevaluation.

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