Cebu City employees get clearance despite their money accountabilities

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City still issued clearances to retired employees even if they had outstanding cash balances and that the amounts were not deducted from their benefits.

This was learned after the Commission on Audit looked into Cebu City Hall’s transactions for fiscal year 2013.

“The process flow clearly indicates a breakdown of internal control for cash are not amply safeguarded from physical loss through possible fraud and embezzelment,” COA said. 

It added that continued inaction of accountable officers to establish written policies and sanctions to prevent under-remittance by collectors had deprived the city government from the immediate use of such fund for priority projects.

COA has also advised Cebu City officials to initiate legal moves to recover the millions of pesos from those who were already convicted by the court for embezzling city funds.

COA had learned that the city officials are very lax in protecting the people’s money, which is why it has yet to regain P42.3 million from accountable persons as of December 2013.

Some former Cebu City disbursing officers had been convicted already for malversation of public funds, but the money they embezzled has remained in their hands.

 During the stint of then mayor Alvin Garcia, disbursing officer Rosalina Badana was able to get P18 million while Cleofe Delute also pocketed close to P10 million. Only Delute has been convicted because Badana continue to evade arrests.

According to inspection of records until November 2013, tax collection shortages started way back in the early 2000s yet.

State auditors said that despite the violations committed by the said accountable officers, no sanctions had been imposed against them and that they were still allowed to collect taxes due to the lack of collectors.

“Some tax collectors habitually under-remitted their collections and continue doing so in the absence of sanctions,” COA said in its report.

City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas said that when she took the post last year, there were some tax collectors who failed to remit their whole collections. She said she required them to submit the collections in full.

“Dili ko mosugot nga mo-remit sila og kuwang (I did not want them to remit incomplete amounts),” Cuevas told The FREEMAN last night. — (FREEMAN)