DA-Davao flagged for illegal use of Malampaya Fund

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Davao region to return P1.27 million in extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EME) that they unlawfully charged to the Malampaya Fund.

In a decision dated Jan. 24, 2022, but uploaded on the COA website only recently, state auditors affirmed the validity of a notice of disallowance (ND) issued against the DA regional office in December 2012.

The ND involved P830,423.73 of the P1.27-million EME charged by the DA-Davao region to the Malampaya Fund from December 2008 to May 2009.

The COA directed the audit team and supervising auditor to reevaluate the entire expenses and issue a supplemental ND if warranted, to account for the remaining amount.

State auditors noted that most of the disallowed expenses included reimbursements for meals and snacks as well as purchases of assorted fruits, fish and other delicacies, which were given as presents to visitors from the DA central office in Metro Manila.

The COA said the act constituted “improper use of funds” as provided under Administrative Order 244.

The order stated that the Malampaya Fund allocated to the DA should be used exclusively for the government’s rice self-sufficiency program.

In the same ruling, the COA denied the petition for review filed by former DA-Davao finance division chief Alma Mahinay and accountant Mariflor Garcia, who asked to be excluded from the list of the respondents.

The COA denied Mahinay and Garcia’s argument that they merely performed ministerial duties when they certified the fund allotment and cash availability as well as the completeness of supporting documents.

The COA said as the then chief of the finance division, Mahinay erroneously certified the availability of the fund allotment.

It said Garcia certified the availability of cash and completeness of supporting documents even when some receipts were dubious.

Aside from Mahinay and Garcia, the other respondents were DA regional executive director Roger Chio, technical director Romulo Palcon, administrative officers Ma. Lorna Jamora and Gilda Cordero, accountants Josefina Ladaga and Marypaz Ramirez, administrative aide Roy Jose Pascua, agricultural technologist Elizabeth Torio and engineer Ricardo Oñate Jr.