COA calls out DOH over delayed, idle infrastructure projects

December 26, 2025 | 12:00am

The photo of the Commission on Audit’s office in Quezon CIty.

The STAR / Michael Varcas

MANILA, Philippines —  The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Department of Health over delayed, idle and unimplemented infrastructure projects under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) of the DOH for 2024, with a total contract cost of P14.52 billion.

“Deficiencies in the planning, coordination, procurement and implementation processes of the HFEP for CY (Calendar Year) 2024 resulted in the delayed, idle or unimplemented infrastructure projects, thereby undermining the program’s core objective of expanding equitable access to quality health care services nationwide,” the COA’s 2024 annual audit report on the DOH read.

The audit breakdown showed that a total of P11.539 billion in HFEP projects were delayed or were not completed within the contract time.

The bulk of the delayed projects were under the DOH Central Office (CO), involving nine contracts with an aggregate cost of P8.61 billion.

The COA said among the causes of delay in the projects’ implementation were continued occupancy of construction areas by DOH personnel; securing permits from local government units; changes in architectural and engineering plans requiring cost and contract adjustments; litigation involving a contractor and “poor coordination among stakeholders.”

Delays were also noted in several HFEP projects in public hospitals and health centers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Regions III, VI, IX, X, XI mainly due to failure to timely secure permits from the LGUs, lack of relocation contingency plans for patients and other site occupants and “deficient planning and inadequate monitoring and supervision.”

Meanwhile, projects totaling P619.532 million were left unutilized or idle. Among the reasons cited were “non-issuance of occupancy permits” and lack of personnel, manpower and equipment necessary for the health facilities’ operation and contractors’ failure to submit project documentation.

The idle projects were traced at Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City amounting to P327.194 million, Zamboanga Center for Health Development (CHD) amounting to P208.455 million, Caraga CHD (P51.25 million), Zamboanga Regional Medical Center, formerly Mindanao Central Sanitarium (P24.885 million) and Davao CHD (P7.748 million).

Meanwhile, the audit report showed that HFEP projects with an aggregate contract cost of P2.362 billion, were unimplemented or have to not even started as of end of 2024.

The bulk of the unimplemented projects were in Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC) in Region 1 involving seven contracts with an aggregate cost of P1.035 billion; followed by Western Visayas CHD for 43 contracts totaling P942.594 million; Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Caloocan City (P200 million); Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) in Quezon City (P172.7 million); Cordillera CHD (P11.2 million), and Western Visayas Medical Center (P228,000).

Among the cited reasons for the failure to implement the projects were “poor procurement planning,” delayed submission of the necessary documents to the LGUs, inadequate data analysis, multiple plan revisions, delayed release of appropriations and “failure to account for unforeseen disruptions.”