COA flags SC for P33.7-million unliquidated cash advances

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Supreme Court (SC) over unliquidated cash advances of its officials and employees totaling P33.734 million.

“Cash advances totaling P33,734,085.84 remain unliquidated as of year-end even if their purposes had been served,” COA said in its 2018 annual audit report on the SC.

The audit body’s record showed that in 2018, a total of P39.373 million in cash advances were released by the SC for the salaries and benefits of its personnel (P6.084 million), “special time-bound activities” (P30.909 million) and travels (P2.379 million).

The COA said of the total amount, P33.734 million was already due for liquidation by year-end but remains unliquidated as of Dec. 31, 2018.

The COA said a single Regular Disbursing Officer (RDO) was accountable for 89 percent or P30.061 million of the unliquidated cash advances, which she received for supposed various purposes or activities.

The name of the female RDO, however, was not disclosed in the audit report.

The COA noted that “her outstanding cash advances were already due for liquidation for a period ranging from five days to over one year” consisting of cash advances for payroll amounting to P6.074 million and for other purposes amounting to P28.413 million.

The COA noted that it issued an Audit Observation Memorandum to the SC on Aug. 7, 2018 concerning the 34 unliquidated cash advances of the RDO, which at that time amounted to P10.176 million.

But the SC still granted to her additional cash advances, resulting in the accumulation of her unliquidated balance to P30.061 million as of the end of 2018.

The COA said the non-liquidation of the cash advances of the RDO and the other officers and personnel of the SC contravenes Section 89 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 or the Government Auditing Code, which states that “a cash advance shall be reported on and liquidated as soon as the purpose for which it was given has been served.”

The audit body said Section 89 of PD 1445 as well as the COA Circular No. 97-002 dated Feb. 10, 1997 also state that no additional cash advance shall be granted to any official or employee unless his or her previous cash advances has been settled or accounted for.

“The non-liquidation of the cash advances therefore exposes the funds to possible loss, misuse or misapplication and resulted to misstatement of related expenses at the time these were actually incurred and overstatement of the advanced accounts,” the COA said.

The COA recommended to the SC to withhold the salaries of the RDO as well as the other officers and personnel until they have submitted their liquidation reports for their cash advances.

The COA also said the SC must consider imposing appropriate sanctions against the officers and personnel in accordance with PD 1445.

The COA said the SC must direct its chief accountant to submit an explanation over his failure to issue demand letters to the accountable officers and to withhold their salaries as earlier recommended by the audit team.

In a reply incorporated in the audit report, the SC management said of the P2.357 million unliquidated cash advances for the travels of its officers and employees, 64 percent or P1.515 million has already been paid and liquidated as of March 31, 2019.

The SC said to date, liquidation reports covering the cash advances amounting to P14.512 million were submitted to the Accounting Division.

“Officials and employees who have unliquidated cash advances were not allowed by the Court to render services for the conduct of the Court’s summer session in Baguio City in April 2019 and also for the conduct of judicial audit unless their unliquidated cash advances shall have been fully settled,” the SC added.