THE COMMISSION on Audit (CoA) flagged the National Housing Authority (NHA) for completing only 117,167 of the 203,471 housing units intended for the victims of supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which struck in November 2013. “The low percentage of completion is caused by land boundary disputes, issues on road right of way, unbuildable area on site, non-issuance/delayed approval of permits, inclement weather condition, change of site location/housing design, issuance of Notice and Order of Termination of Contracts, and termination of contracts,” said CoA in its annual audit report. Of the completed houses, 62,474 remain unoccupied “due to lack of water and power supply, accessibility of the housing site to source of livelihood, rectification and correction of findings per CPES (Constructors’ Performance Evaluation System),” among other issues, said CoA. The state auditors recommended that NHA closely monitor timelines for completion of projects by contractors and act immediately on contracts terminated and those with issued notice and order of termination. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

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