P1.6-B Sorsogon assets flagged

THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the provincial government of Sorsogon over its failure to insure P1.62 billion worth of properties, risking massive loss of government assets due to man-made or natural calamities.

State auditors said only P671.2 million, 29.2% of P2.3 billion assets of Sorsogon provincial government were insured.

This leaves P1.62 billion of properties at risk of damage, violating the Property Insurance Law of 1951 and a CoA circular requiring all government assets and properties to be insured by the Government Service Insurance System.

“Examination of the insurance policies over properties likewise disclosed that only 29.26% or ₱671,201,751 of its ₱2,293,533,967 insurable properties were covered by insurance policies for various risks such as fire, lightning, earthquake, typhoon and flood, while 70.74% or ₱1,622,332,215 were not covered by any insurance policy,” part of the CoA report stated.

“The noncompliance with the requirement denied the government adequate and reliable protection against any damage to or loss of its properties or assets and interests due to fortuitous events and/or casualty,” state auditors added.

The Provincial Government of Sorsogon did not immediately reply to a Facebook Messenger chat seeking comment. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio