THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) for failing to jumpstart its gender equality agenda, raising concerns about its ability to address gender issues and promote workplace inclusivity.
State auditors said the state-run oil company failed to utilize the P182.71 million allotted for its gender and development initiatives in 2023, which is against gender equality regulations for government corporations.
The PNOC did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment, but noted in the audit report that they were unable to formulate a gender equality agenda as “scheduled trainings did not push through” in 2023.
“PNOC has not yet formulated its Gender and Development (GAD) Agenda… thus [it] has no strategic framework and plan for gender mainstreaming and achieving women empowerment and gender equality,” a part of the audit report stated.
“The absence of a GAD Agenda may indicate a gap in PNOC’s compliance with regulatory requirements and mandates concerning gender-responsive planning and programming,” it added.
All government agencies, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) are mandated to craft a GAD Agenda to mainstream the entry of women into the workforce, according to the commission’s gender and development office.
The commission said that PNOC should prepare a 2025 agenda to lay out a plan for achieving gender equality in the workplace; while recommending PNOC officials to participate in gender empowerment training programs.
Meanwhile, state auditors also raised that PNOC failed to follow a joint circular mandating that at least 5% of a GOCC’s budget be allocated and utilized for GAD projects.
“PNOC did not fully utilize the GAD Budget amounting to P182.71 million for the GAD Programs, Activities and Projects (PAPs)… incurring expenditures of only P1.39 million for the entire GAD PAPs or equivalent to only 0.13% of its Corporate Operating Budget (COB),” the report stated.
The state-run oil company had a COB amounting to P1.05 billion in 2023, according to the report. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
