P302K for job hires’ training ‘illegal’

By: Gerome Dalipe

THE municipal government of San Enrique, Iloilo spent P302,240 for “various training and seminars” of its employees last year.

However, these employees were merely job hires, or temporary workers of the municipal government, the Commission on Audit (COA) discovered.

The action violated the COA Circular 2012-003 or the Updated Guidelines for the Prevention and Disallowance of Irregular, Unnecessary, Excessive, Extravagant and Unconscionable Expenditures.

It also ran contrast to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolution 062254, known as the Rules and Regulations Governing Contract of Service and Job Order Workers in the Government.

The auditors said the fund released for the job hires’ travel expenses and stipend totaling P302,240 caused the municipal government additional expenses.

In their annual report, the auditors urged the municipal mayor to instruct her department heads to discontinue the practice of sending job hires to attend trainings and workshops.
This aims at minimizing additional operating expenses of the municipality.

“We also recommended strict compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations relative to job order workers; otherwise, proper sanctions will be imposed on the incurrence of these expenditures,” read the COA report.

Apart from unauthorized expenses on training, the auditors also called on the municipal government to settle the audit suspensions and disallowances amounting to P8.64 million and P2.39 million respectively.

The above-disallowed expenses remain unsettled as of Dec. 31, 2018, because the agency personnel concerned failed to submit appeals or settle the disallowances and submit justifications with the necessary requirements, the auditors said.

The auditors urged the municipal mayor to direct the agency personnel concerned to exert effort in the compliance of necessary requirements as stated in the notice of suspensions.

COA also asked the municipal government to be more prudent in the processing of claims for payment to avoid audit disallowances and suspensions.