Charges eyed over use of calamity funds

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Councilor Romeo Villarante is studying the possibility of filing charges for technical malversation against City Hall officials who might be responsible for using more than P6 million of the city’s calamity fund to pay wages to job-order personnel and improve the parking lot of the public market last year.

“I will be asking a hard copy from the Commission on Audit (COA) and assess everything to get an evidence to file a case against City Hall officials over the use of calamity fund intended for payment of job orders and improve the parking lot of the market,” Villarante told reporters.

In its 2011 annual audit report, COA called the attention of the Talisay City Government for violating Republic Act 10121 after finding out that the city is using about P6.3 million from the calamity fund to pay for the salaries of job-order employees assigned to the City Budget Office and the City Youth Performing Arts Commission.

Also, the auditors questioned why the calamity funds were used to improve the parking lot of the new Tabunok Public Market.

“Using the city’s calamity funds to pay the salaries of job-order employees and for the improvements is invalid, illegal and questionable,” the report reads.

Under the law, five percent of the estimated revenue from the LGU’s regular sources shall be set aside to support disaster risk management activities such as, but not limited to, pre-disaster preparedness programs. It also includes training, buying lifesaving rescue equipment, supplies and medicines. It may also be used for post-disaster activities, payment of premiums on calamity insurance and construction of evacuation centers.

Villarante, who belongs to the opposition bloc and who is running for vice mayor under the Liberal Party, said there is nothing personal in his plan.

Villarante said there are several decisions of the Supreme Court on technical malversation on using calamity funds. He believed that it will be a strong case against the administration once they can gather documents needed to file the charges.

Last Monday, Mayor Socrates Fernandez denied that his government misused the funds, saying there are supporting reasons why the money was used.

Fernandez said there are records regarding the amount spent for the riprapping project in consonance with the calamity preparedness fund. He said everything was already explained in an exit conference with the auditors and that their records were already reconciled.

“We deny that with the records supporting or vouching our reasons because there are records regarding the amount spent for the riprapping project in consonance with the calamity preparedness fund,” Fernandez said in an interview with the media earlier.

Fernandez was referring to the report published in a local daily (not The FREEMAN) alleging that the city’s P6 million calamity fund was illegally appropriated.

The report quoted auditors from COA.

“Misleading ang report, nasumpay siguro ang calamity fund and lot improvement. Mao nang advise sa COA, dili isumpay kay basin ma-construed that they were taken from the same source, which is not true. But we told the exit auditors,” he said.

At that time the construction of both projects were almost done on the same period, as it was around that time when the city was about to open the market for public use.

He explained that while the slope development project was charged to 5 percent of the city’s pre-calamity fund, the parking area was from its 20 percent Development Fund. This was vouched by budget officer Edgardo Mabunay who said there are documents to prove such, and that from their exit conference with state auditors last year, they had made clarifications with it too.

Mabunay said COA has yet to release its final audit report, which he believes had rectified this error.

Both projects were nearing completion about the same time, as it was around that time when the city was about to open the market for public use.

The mayor explained further that as per Republic Act 10121 or the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010” they can use 70 percent of their total calamity fund for disaster preparedness like riprapping of riverbanks to protect both humans and property from future destruction.

The city has allocated about P22 million as calamity fund this year. /JMO (FREEMAN)