Binay questions 'unaudited' budget allocations to Abad's province

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Nancy Binay on Tuesday questioned the propriety of the proposed P65 million budget for the extension office of the National Museum at the home province of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

This came up during the Senate budget hearing for the Commission on Audit, whose officials were confronted by Binay for their seeming failure to audit amounts appropriated by the Department of Budge and Management to Batanes over the past three years.

“It’s a question of delicadeza because the DBM secretary is the husband of the representative of Batanes because you can see that funds allocated for Batanes is too much for such a small province,” Binay said.

Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad is the wife of the budget secretary.

“Gusto ko lang alamin kung na-audit na nila yun kasi can you just imagine a small province like Batanes, hindi pa nila na-aaudit, what more yung mga probinsya na malalaki?” the senator added.

The COA is asking the Senate for the approval of their P2.6 billion budget for 2015.

During the hearing, Binay asked the COA panel led by commissioner Heidi Mendoza if the agency had audited the funds, identifying P749,600 budget for preparatory works in connection with the establishment of extension office of the National Museum in 2011, then another  P35 million in 2012 and P15 million more in 2013.

About P7.5 million has been requested by the National Museum under the 2015 proposed budget.

“Do we have any audit report pertaining this project? The project is now in phase 3,” Binay asked the COA executives.

Mendoza said the COA has started to adopt a unified audit approach, which is probably why the agency has not conducted its audit on the funds for the National Museum.
“Once disbursement vouchers have been submitted maybe, there has been delay in the submission,” she said.

Mendoza added that the auditors from COA's Region 2 office covers the area of Batanes.

Binay also questioned Mendoza over the P48 million budget for the greening and beautification program of Batanes, which was covered by a Notice of Cash Allotment in 2011. “I assume nagastos na ito. Dapat may audit ang resident auditor, tama po ba?” Binay said.

Another COA official told the Senate finance subcommittee chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda that the main office had ordered regional directors to submit partial reports, especially on the funds released to local government units.

“We are asking our regional directors to submit partial reports of their audits [for 2014]. Siguro po this year ang results. This is a yearround audit,” the official said.

“Those funds downloaded to the LGUs, these should have been audited,” Binay retorted.

During the same budget hearing, Legarda said she received a call from the National Museum executive that the landscaping of the extension office in Batanes was “ongoing,” with “exhibitions being designed, awaiting for the DBM for approval of plantilla positions.”

Binay said she raised concerns over the apparent special allotment of funds to Batanes when she learned that the School of the Arts in Makiling has no funds to pay for its electricity.