The Mandaue City Government has referred a P58.13-million school supply procurement to its City Legal Office for investigation after auditors found that thousands of rubber shoes were missing from kits already paid for under the previous administration.
City Administrator Atty. Gonzalo Malig-on said the investigation followed the Commission on Audit’s (COA) findings on the incomplete delivery of 17,100 school supply kits intended for Grade 1 to 3 learners.
A transmittal letter from the Office of the Mayor dated Sept. 30, 2026, referred the matter to the City Legal Office for appropriate action.
“There is already a folder for that, we will announce accordingly kay unfair man pod if mag-una ko, but naa nay transmittal,” Malig-on said in an interview.
He clarified that the procurement, delivery and payment occurred during the previous administration in the first quarter of 2025, shortly before the May elections.
“Sa panahon to sa past administration, it was procured, delivered and paid first quarter of 2025, just before the elections,” he said.
Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano assumed office in July 2026, inheriting the matter, Malig-on added.
“Ni assume si Mayor Jonkie (Thadeo Jovito Ouano) July,” he said.
Malig-on said the current mayor received COA’s report in his capacity as the sitting city chief executive, stressing that the transaction took place before the new administration took over.
“Klaruhon nato it was an irregularity, anomaly, that happened was procured, delivered and paid before pa nilingkod ang bag-ong mayor,” he said.
In its 2025 audit observations, COA questioned the full payment of P58.13 million for the school supply kits despite the absence of rubber shoes from kits distributed to recipient schools.
Funded through the city’s Special Education Fund, the procurement covered backpacks, physical education uniforms, rubber shoes and other school supplies.
During validation at three schools in March 2026, auditors found that the kits had been received but the shoes were missing. Although 3,000 pairs were delivered in January 2026, approximately 14,000 pairs remained undelivered at the time of the audit observation.
COA attributed the discrepancy to limited inspection of delivered items and assumptions about the contents of unopened sacks.
The audit team recommended that the city require the supplier to deliver the missing shoes or refund the corresponding amount, impose applicable liquidated damages for the delay and investigate the transaction to determine accountability.
During the audit exit conference, the city administration informed COA that the matter had been referred to the City Legal Office for investigation.
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