Capitol execs, employees ordered to return P23.15-M illegal cash perks

By: Gerome Dalipe

THE Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered anew officials and employees of the Iloilo Provincial Government to return P23. 15-M in cash incentives they received in previous years which the state auditors deemed as illegal.

In their 2018 annual audit report, the state auditors said that their regional office’s order for the Capitol employees and officials to return the amount in previous years has remained unenforced.

The employees’ non-compliance to the auditors’ orders of execution delayed the recovery of public funds, which could have been used for other priority and development projects of the Province, the auditors noted.

Such an act also violated Section 7.1 of The 2009 Rules and Regulations on the Settlement of Accounts, COA pointed out.

Pursuant to the rules, COA’s order or decision should be served to each of the employee concerned by the state auditors through personal mail service.

In the case of several payees, the execution of notice should be sent to the accountant, who will be tasked to inform the employees concerned or to be deducted from their payroll.

The state auditors recommended that the governor direct the provincial treasurer to strictly enforce the order of disallowance against the concerned personnel.

Such can be done by withholding the total amounts due from their salaries or other compensation unless the concerned personnel filed a request to pay the audit disallowances on installment basis and approved by the auditors.

Likewise, the Provincial Government also failed to implement the auditors’ notice of disallowance to Capitol employees and personnel amounting to P396.26 million and notice of suspension of P6.13 million in previous years.