COA issues new rules on use of calamity funds

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has issued new rules that will guide local government units (LGUs) on how calamity funds should be spent in accordance with the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

In a circular published in The STAR yesterday, COA said accounting and reporting guidelines are being set to prevent the misuse of government money, particularly the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund.

COA chairperson Ma. Grace Pulido-Tan, along with Commissioners Juanito Espino Jr. and Heidi Mendoza, said the new guidelines are also being put in place “to promulgate accounting and auditing rules and regulations, including those for the prevention of an disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties.”

The seven-page circular states that pursuant to law, the local disaster fund shall be used to support disaster risk management activities like programs, training, and the purchase of life-saving equipment, supplies and medicines.

Calamity funds may also be used for repair and rehabilitation of public infrastructure, payment of insurance premiums, and relief and recovery programs in communities hit by disasters, calamities, epidemics or complex emergencies.

Noting that the disaster fund should be sourced mainly from not less than five percent of an LGU’s revenue from regular sources, the COA circular states that 30 percent of the money should be set aside for a Quick Response Fund for relief and recovery projects and activities.