COA: Talisay college not issuing receipts

CEBU, Philippines - While the Talisay City College has been collecting different school fees, it has not been issuing the required and appropriate official receipts, this according to the Commission on Audit.

In its Audit Observation Memorandum dated Mar. 1, 2013, COA said the collections of various school fees has reached P10,553,270 and the amount was not remitted to the City Treasurer’s Office, which is in violation of Sections 15 and 30 of the New Government Accounting System Manual for Local Government Unit Vol. 1.

The report, which was signed by State Auditor IV Ma. Daisy Bercede and supervising auditor Delia Monte de Ramos, pointed out that government funds have been exposed to risk of misuse, theft or malversation.

COA also found out that aside from the collection of various school fees, TCC has been making disbursements out of the collections without the approval from the Board of Trustees.

TCC, headed by its president Tomas Ramos, started its operation in the opening of school year 2004-2005.

Under Section 15 of the New Government Accounting System Manual, it stated that “the officers of the local government authorized to receive and collect monies arising from taxes, revenue or receipts of any kind shall remit the full amount received and collected to the treasury of such local government unit which shall be credited to the particular account or accounts to which the monies in question.”

Also, Section 30 states that “collectors/tellers shall issue a receipt to acknowledge collection made. The receipt maybe in the form of pre-numbered receipts, or cash tickets and the alike.”

COA also pointed out that TCC failed to provide their agency the list of students and other data needed to conduct the audit.

Based on the list of students of TCC from school year 2008-2009 to 2012-2013 as provided by the Commission on Higher Education, the city could have collected at least P10,553,270 as entrance/examination fees, insurance membership fee, development fee, assessment fee, LET review fee, graduation fee and payment for transcript of records.

The TCC operates under a consortium agreement with Cebu Normal University, Cebu Technological University and the University of the Visayas from 2004-2005 up to 2007-2008.

It was in 2008 that TCC started collecting fees from examinees. The total collection could come up higher than P873,900 since there were also applicants who failed in the examination as well as those who passed but decided to enroll elsewhere.

For the undergraduate school, the entrance examination fee is P300 per students; insurance fee is P100 every semester; development fee is P70; assessment fee is P550 per student; review fee is P3,500. There is also P3,000 charged per trimester for students who will take post-graduate studies; a graduation fee of P1,000 to P1,500 while transcript of records cost P50.

In the AOM for the school year 2008-2009 until 2012-2013, TCC collected P10,553,270 from the students entrance/examination fees; insurance membership fee; development fee; NC II TESDA assessment fee; LET review fee; DPE/MA.Ed/MPA tuition fee; graduation fee and transcript of records.

In 2008-2012, the TCC collected P873,900 from entrance/examination fee; P1,317,900 from the insurance membership fee; P3,690,120 from development fee; P432,850 from TESDA assessment fee-NC II; P1,760,500 for review of LET; P648,000 for tuition fees of DPE, MA.  Ed MPA; P1,696,500 for graduation fee and P133,500 for transcript of record.

COA recommended that city officials instruct the city treasurer for the possible assignment of a collecting office at TCC, or designate a school facility to perform the collection functions with appropriate compliance with the bonding requirements pursuant to the existing registration.

The COA also directed Ramos to explain the irregularities committed by TCC and to conduct a partial investigation and appropriate sanctions against erring TCC personnel.  —/BRP (FREEMAN)