COA: 25T brgy staff must refund P46.8M cash gift from the Capitol

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has recommended for 25,074 barangay workers who received from the Capitol close to P47 million as cash gift last December to refund the amount, saying it is against the rules.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, however, said they will reply to COA this Monday and will fight for the said allowance to barangay workers.

Magpale said the COA might have had a different interpretation on the disbursement and may have considered the amount as a monthly honorarium from the Capitol.

“This is a one-time reward (each year) for the barangay workers,” she said.

In a letter to Gov.  Hilario Davide III sent through Provincial Accountant Marieto Ypil, the COA noted deficiencies on the “transaction related to the liquidation of cash advance for honorarium as of  April this year.”

“The Province of Cebu granted honorarium to barangay tanods, barangay animal health aides, barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars and barangay day care workers totaling to P46, 806,600 that may not have legal basis and may thus result to the incurrence of  the irregular expenditures of government funds,” stated the letter.

Last January, then acting governor now Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale distributed the said allowances, which were given each December by the administration of then governor and current 3rd district Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia as cash gift to barangay workers in the province.

In its letter to Davide, the COA attached a local budget circular dated October 1996 and particularly cited Section 4.2, which states that “the province and city or municipality where the barangay belongs cannot grant compensation to the barangay officials and employees in the form of honorarium or salary increase chargeable against either provincial, city, municipal or barangay funds.”

According to the COA observation report, the Provincial Government disbursed last December 2012  P46.9 million to 14,459 barangay tanods, who received P1, 500 each; 531 animal health aides, P1,500 each; 7,772 health workers, P2,400 each; and 769  nutrition scholars and 1,543 daycare workers, P2,400 each.

The COA report said that only a budgetary requirement and a certification by barangay health aide volunteers’ association members were attached to the disbursement report.

Following its review, state auditors asked the accounting department and Sangguniang Panglungsod for legal basis to support the granting of the allowances but both offices failed to provide any.

With this, the COA “recommends that in the absence of any legal basis, all who have received the honorarium refund the amount that each received.”

The commission also said a notice of disallowance on the same disbursement will be subsequently issued.

Magpale, though, instructed her legal consultant, Atty. Magnificus Cañete, to review the COA observation report and to provide  the reply next week.

In a separate interview, Cañete said they will definitely give a reply to the COA since they do not want the barangay workers to reimburse the reward given to them.

“We will fight this off even to the extent of going to court,” said Cañete, who explained that he has spoken with Davide, who also told him to review the matter cautiously so that they barangay workers would be able to keep their Christmas gift from the Provincial Government.

Cañete said he told Davide that they will file the Capitol’s justification for the disbursement with the COA and will wait for its reply.

Cañete said that if  the COA would disallow the continuing disbursement of the cash gift, considering that the Capitol is set to do so again next month, they would be forced to go to court to file a declaratory relief.

The Christmas cash gift for barangay workers this year would be taken from the Capitol’s savings and the governor’s discretionary fund. — (FREEMAN)