COA: Mandaue has not liquidated cash advances totaling P2.9M

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City has not liquidated cash advances amounting to P2.9 million incurred from 2001 to 2013, the Commission on Audit said.

State auditor Lolita Mercedes said the unliquidated cash advances violate COA Circular Number 2003-03.

The amount reportedly comes from the P20 million total cash advances incurred by officers and employees until December 2013, of which 78 percent or P15.6 million from the Intelligence/Confidential Fund remained unliquidated.

COA also noted that from this amount, P12 million was submitted only three months to two years after the prescribed period.

The state auditor told the city mayor to “direct the immediate settlement of these cash advances” and for the city accountant to implement an “effective system” in monitoring cash advances” on the city’s funds to avoid “unnecessary risk of possible misuse.”

COA also pointed out that the city granted P14.5 million in financial assistance to non-government organizations in 2010 of which 29 percent remained unliquidated even up to the time of its yearend audit in December 2013.

The agency said it left them “uninformed of whether or not the moneys were spent in accordance with the purpose for which the grants were given.”

COA recommended that the mayor direct the legal officer to “immediately” send demand letters to the NGOs that failed to submit proper documents for liquidation of the grant.

In the same audit report, the state auditor also recorded the accountability of the general services office or the city’s proper custodian on the P1.6-million purchase of 1,000 coffee table books, which it said was not recorded properly that it could not be ascertained if the accounts were overstated or understated.

“We recommend that management direct the city accountant to make the appropriate adjusting entry to record the cost of 1,000 copies of coffee table books...and reconcile its records with the GSO or or Property Custodian to effectively monitor the issuance thereof and determine the proper accountability of the accountable officer concerned,” COA’s report reads.

Also, COA ordered the city’s job orders, clean and green workers and barangay health and nutrition workers to refund the P36-million cash incentives, which was granted “not in harmony” with the provisions of Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular 38 s. 1993. —  (FREEMAN)