Malabon eyes lawsuits to recover P41.8-M cash advances

MANILA, Philippines - The Malabon City government is planning to file charges against current and former officials who have yet to settle a total of P41.8 million in unliquidated cash advances, some of them dating back to 1990, an official said yesterday.

The Commission on Audit (COA), in a report released over the weekend, ordered the city government to settle the advances.

“The salaries of those who are still connected with the city government are being deducted and they will soon complete their liquidation. Our legal department is going to file charges against seven officials who were not able to settle P10 million in cash advances as of Dec. 31, 2011,” Heaven Torres, executive assistant of Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta, told The STAR.

Torres refused to name names until the charges have been filed.

Torres said that out of the P41.8 million in unliquidated cash advances as of December 2012, P20.6 million was disbursed during the past administration.

According to the COA, one of the biggest unliquidated advances was made by special disbursing officer Elena Miguel, who received a total of P24.6 million from the city government’s intelligence funds.

Former executive assistant Ruel Tamayo received P6.8 million from 2002 to 2004, the COA said. 

The COA list also includes a P200,000 advance received by then city councilor Benjamin Galauran in October 2002.

Torres said one former disbursing officer with an outstanding cash advance of over P2 million is facing an administrative case.

He said the city’s accounting and human resources management and development department has already issued a memo to disbursing officers that the cash advances will be deducted from their salaries if they do not liquidate on time.