MCIA to COA: DBM can't slash our budget

CEBU, Philippines - The officials of the Mactan Cebu International Airport have claimed that even if their expenses last year exceeded their approved budget they did not violate any law, even if they also gave additional health incentives to all of their employees.

The Commission on Audit said the airport officials violated several state audit procedures in their financial transactions last year when they spent P210 million for their salaries and wages, which is more than P58.6 million from the budget approved by the Department of Budget and Management.

But airport general manager Danilo Augusto Francia said the DBM has no authority to review and approve their budget, more so to slash the MCIAA approved budget.

The records showed that the MCIAA submitted for review and approval to the Department of Budget and Management its corporate operating budget for 2008 where P198 million was intended for personal services.

After reviewing the budget, the DBM slashed the proposed amount for salaries and wages to only P151.4 million.

The COA said even if the DBM approved the MCIAA’s budget of P198,027,802 it still has an overdraft of P12,028,346 because the airport’s total expenses for the salaries, wages and other benefits of its employees reached P210,056,148.

But Francia argued that the budget of any government-owned or controlled corporations like the MCIAA shall be approved only by their respective governing boards, unless in cases where national government budgetary support is needed.

He said because MCIAA did not ask for national government budgetary support there is no need for the DBM to review and approve their budget.

COA said the spending of amount more than the approved budget for salaries, wages and other forms of benefits is not only a violation of the Government Accounting and Auditing Code, and General Appropriations Act of 2008, but also violates the MCIAA’s corporate operating budget policy.

The airport officials also spent millions of pesos for the granting of P6.3 million additional health benefits to all 673 airport officials and personnel even if such expenditures were not included in their approved budget.

COA said the airport officials and personnel are not allowed to be given a separate health care program because all of them are already covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

But Francia said the MCIAA, in its charter, is authorized to approve salary ranges, benefits and other terms and conditions of service for their officers and employees upon recommendation of the airport general manager, which shall “as far as possible, be competitive with those offered in the private sector.”

According to Francia the demands of work in an international airport that operates 24 hours everyday is different from the demands of a government agency operating only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)