MANILA — Various donations made to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) intended for victims of Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020 remain undistributed at the end of 2021, state auditors said.

The Commission on Audit (COA) in its latest report said that the DSWD office in Region 2 received a total of 126,172 in-kind donations during the last quarter of 2020 until 2021, but a total of 21,824 were still on hand.

The report noted that the donations were given by various donors for the families affected by the massive flooding and huge destruction of property in the region.

“However, to date, the above balance of in-kind donations remains undistributed which should have been made immediately especially those goods that are highly exposed to damage, rotting and expiration,” the audit team said.

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The report is a reiteration of last year’s findings in the 2020 audit report on the DSWD.

It also mentioned the non-submission of reports of in-kind donations to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense.

“Also, the transparency and accountability in the use of aid/donations was significantly affected especially that this has become an issue of considerable importance for donors and the public,” the audit team noted.

The auditors stated in the report that the DSWD management agreed to to instruct the Disaster Response Management Division and the Regional Resource Operations Section to strictly comply with COA circulars on the management of donations.

The DSWD also told the audit team the DRMD chief was ordered to release immediately the undistributed donations to deserving beneficiaries.

A copy of the report was received by former DSWD secretary Rolando Bautista on June 29, 2022.

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