CoA flags LLDA over P218.8-M unrecognised land asset

The Commission on Audit has flagged the Laguna Lake Development Authority for failing to recognise a 4,790-sqm land asset valued at P218.8 million in its books. The audit also found discrepancies in the agency's paid-up capital and lapses in enforcement of aquaculture and pollution penalties.

The Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) for accounting and enforcement lapses, including an unrecognised 4,790-square-metre land asset valued at P218.8 million. In its 2025 audit report, CoA said the land asset occupied by LLDA remains unrecognised in the books of accounts, casting doubt on the faithful representation of the agency’s land account. It ordered management to establish legal ownership of the property and record the appropriate journal entries.

CoA also found discrepancies in LLDA’s P339.22-million paid-up capital. The authority’s books differed from its stock and transfer book by P164.79 million and from Bureau of the Treasury records by P14.31 million. The subscriptions receivable account stood at P47.92 million, including P47.17 million due from the National Government that the Treasury did not recognise. CoA told LLDA to coordinate with the Treasury and expedite the accounting adjustments needed to reconcile the records.

The audit further found that LLDA did not strictly follow evaluation procedures for permits to operate aquaculture structures, resulting in an excessive concentration of lake area under common beneficial control. LLDA also dismissed or reduced penalties in several water pollution cases because its calculation system based fines on the date notices were received rather than the date of initial wastewater sampling. CoA recommended that the agency impose and compute penalties in accordance with the rules based on the date of initial sampling.

CoA said LLDA had 58 recommendations for 2025, 42 of which had been implemented. The agency had an unsettled balance of P359,498 from audit suspensions and notices of disallowance as of 31 Dec 2025. LLDA had a P1.09-billion corporate operating budget and 272 workers in 2025, including 159 permanent employees and 113 under contracts of service or job orders.