COA: DOH underutilized disaster funds during pandemic

The Commission on Audit (COA) reported that the Department of Health (DOH) underutilized disaster relief funds during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, DOH spent only P316 million out of a total of P1.7 billion allocated for health services and emergency preparedness.

COA highlighted that even China’s donations were underutilized.

Supervising Auditor Rhodora Ugay noted during a congressional hearing that the missed opportunities to improve healthcare could have been addressed with the unspent funds, which could have been used to procure essential medical supplies and equipment.