P320-M Baliwag assets flagged

THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the city government of Baliwag in Bulacan province for failing to insure P320 million of its assets with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), risking massive infrastructure loss due to calamities without indemnity.

State auditors said only P84 million, or 20.8%, of Baliwag city’s assets were insured. This leaves P320 million, or 79.2%, of properties at risk of natural disasters.

This is in violation of the Property Insurance Law of 1951 and a CoA circular, requiring all government assets and properties to be insured by the GSIS, also leaving the local government unit (LGU) without compensation from damages.

The city government of Baliwag did not immediately respond to an e-mail and Facebook Messenger chat requesting comment.

“A total of P320,096,997 or 79.2% of P404,104,347 insurable physical assets of the City were not yet covered by insurance from the Government Service Insurance System General Insurance Fund, thus, exposing the City to the risk of not being indemnified for any damage to or loss of properties arising from fire, earthquake, storm, flood, and other force majeure,” the CoA report read in part. 

About P151 million worth of machinery and equipment owned by the LGU were uninsured, with building assets amounting to P93 million left at risk without financial compensation. State auditors also noted another P75 million worth of transportation equipment without insurance policies. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio