COA questions town’s P1.5M expenses for food catering, trainings

By Gerome Dalipe IV

The Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the payment for catering and training expenses by the Pavia municipal government amounting to P1.576 million in 2022

In its audit report for 2022, the state auditors said the spending of the above amount was contrary to the proper standard procedures on disbursements of public funds.

The spending may have also violated the provisions of COA Circular No. 2012-003, thus, affecting the validity and propriety of the expenditures, the auditors said.

Per the post-audit report, COA said the attendance sheets for catering services at the isolation or quarantine facility of the municipal government during the pandemic were filled out by only one person.

“The only information which can be gleaned from was the names of the recipients. No other data was provided like the age, address, and status of individuals,” read the COA report.

Likewise, the auditors noticed the attendance sheets were not duly certified by the rural health unit (RHU) as persons prescribed to complete their quarantine period in the facility.

The town’s personnel tasked to oversee the individuals were not properly identified and there was no office order issued to make official their assignment to the said quarantine facility.

“Hence, the legitimacy of individuals whose names appeared in the attendance sheets cannot be properly verified resulting in irregular expenditures,” the auditors said.

The auditors also flagged the town’s executive and legislative agenda formulation workshop held in various hotels in Iloilo City amounting to P592,800.

An examination of disbursement vouchers by state auditors showed that about 50 town officials and employees participated the various workshops.

The municipal government paid P157,800 for room accommodations and P435,000 for meals for the 50 individuals during their 8-day and 2-night stay in the hotels.

Separate meals were also served during the seminars for “executive and legislative agenda formulation” totaling P175,000. The meals consisted of morning and afternoon snacks and buffet lunches where at least four viands were served.

However the auditors observed the hotel where the participants were booked for two nights is merely 9.7 kilometers away from Pavia, where said town officials reside.

The workshop’s program showed the daily activities were only until 4:30 PM. Thus, the auditors said the seminar didn’t have to be conducted in-house.

“Had the LGU been prudent in using resources, amounts spent for accommodation and buffet dinners could have been saved,” read the COA report.

The auditors said seminars were contrary to Section 2 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, which provides that “all resources of the government shall be managed, expended or utilized under law and regulations, and safeguarded against loss or wastage through illegal or improper disposition, with a view of ensuring efficiency, economy, and effectiveness in the operations of government.”

The town government also spent P151,000 for room accommodations and meals for individuals who attended the town’s “swift water rescue training” conducted by the town’s disaster and risk management office.

The 4-day training was attended by 16 PAVERS Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) crew and 4 resource persons. However, the auditors said that 13 out of the 16 participants were job order personnel of Pavia.

“Since no employer-employee relationship exists between the LGU and these individuals, and the job orders cover intermittent jobs of short duration not exceeding six months and paid daily, there is a probability that the knowledge gained through the training may be lost upon expiration of their contracts,” read the COA report.

The auditors said the training is considered irregular because the town failed to follow the rules, regulations, guidelines, policies, and principles in the conduct of training.

“As a result of the above observations, the validity and propriety of the disbursements for meals and room accommodations were affected,” the auditors said.

In the audit report, the auditors asked the mayor to direct the municipal health officer to ensure that lists of individuals quarantined in the isolation facility are filled out, and duly approved to facilitate verification.

The auditors also directed the department head to conduct seminars and workshops in available rooms within the premises of government facilities, on a non-residential basis, to save on training expenses.

Likewise, the auditors asked the department heads to ensure those who participate in the training or workshops are regular employees for their development and productivity will benefit the municipality in the long term.