City Hall remittance of workers’ premiums to PAG-IBIG ‘inaccurate’

By: Gerome Dalipe

SOME Iloilo City Hall workers may have a hard time claiming their Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), or PAG-IBIG, retirement benefits.

This is due to the inaccurate posting of remittances of PAG-IBIG premiums or loan payments of several employees by the City Accounting Office, the state auditors discovered.

In its annual report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the accounting office incurred erroneous posting of PAG-IBIG premiums or loan payments in the subsidiary ledgers.

This resulted in over or under remittances of P2,038,927.50 and unreconciled balances amounting to P184,341.25.

The practice ran contrast to Sec. 23. of Republic Act 9679, or the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) Circular 275, thus affecting the reliability of the account balance and the personnel’s claims upon retirement.

“The inaccuracy in the remittances of premiums or loan payments may affect the personnel benefits upon retirement,” read the COA report.

Section 23 of the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009 mandates all government instrumentalities, agencies, and government-owned and -controlled corporations, to provide the payment of contributions in their annual appropriations.

Verification on the due to PAG-IBIG account for all funds revealed that premiums and loans deducted from the payroll of the City Hall personnel was not remitted intact, the auditors said.

Likewise, the auditors said the account balance at the end of 2018 amounting ₱2,496,355.41 was remitted under the General Fund. No remittance was made under the Special Education Fund and Local Economic Enterprise.

Likewise, an over remittance of P138,324.07 was made under the General Fund.

Further, the auditors found negative balances totalingP2,038,927.50 in the subsidiary ledgers for individual employees and P184,341.25 in an unreconciled amount as of Dec. 31, 2018.

“Negative balances signify over remittances of premiums or loan payments for other employees and could be the result of under remittances for others,” read the COA report.

Likewise, the auditors said the existence of unreconciled balances in the subsidiary ledgers of the due to PAG-IBIG account implies erroneous recording of transactions.

Thus, it casts doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the balance of the said account in the financial statements.

In the report, the auditors urged the city accountant to review the deductions of personnel to ensure that all premiums or loan payments are fully remitted to PAG-IBIG.

The accountant is also urged to work back and review the entries in the subsidiary ledgers with negative balances and make the necessary adjusting entries to correct the balances of affected accounts.

The auditors also directed the accounting office to review and analyze thoroughly the journal entries made before posting the same in the subsidiary ledgers to ensure accurate recording of transactions and reliable balances of accounts.