COA questions P20T calamity aid for workers

AUDITORS said the P20,000 calamity assistance given to Cebu City officials and employees following the earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda in the last quarter of 2013 was “highly questionable.”

This was one of the findings of the Commission on Audit’s final report for 2013.

COA also wants City Hall to explain the use of calamity funds for the salaries of some job order (JO) employees and why some fuel and medicine procurements were expensive compared to prevailing prices.

Government auditors said the release of P84.5 million calamity assistance in December 2013 violated the Salary Standardization Law covering benefits due to government personnel.

The assistance was recorded as “donations” and charged to the city’s donations account under the office of the City Administrator.

The account was created for donations by Cebu City to other government offices, private individuals and institutions.

Auditors said “the recording of financial assistance under the ‘Donations’ account is irregular for it tends to mislead the true nature of the disbursement in the disguise of giving donations instead of the proper other bonuses and allowances account.”

Calamity fund

Auditors called the city’s attention on the misuse of the calamity assistance.

City officials were previously warned of a disallowance in using P12.4 million from the calamity fund to pay salaries of job order personnel under the office of the mayor in 2013, an election year.

Officials involved in the hiring process were asked to explain the use of calamity funds for salaries of JO workers assigned to the Management Information Computer Services (MICS), the city’s demolition team, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, CESET, Coastal Management Board, City Environment and Natural Resources Office and Bantay Dagat.

In replay, city officials justified during their exit conference on May 22 that the JO workers were hired as part of the city’s disaster preparedness program.

“In making functional our disaster programs, we need people to operationalize our action plans and to undertake activities that cannot be done by the rescue machines and equipment.

Moreover, these equipment need people in order to operate them,” said City Hall managers, whose comment was part of the audit report.

But auditors said hired JOs functioned as employees of the offices where they were assigned and were only deployed to help in disaster-related activities where there were calamities.

Mayor Michael Rama was given a copy of the audit report on May 30.

Overpriced

Other audit observations included the purchase of “overpriced” fuel from two City Hall suppliers last year which resulted in wastage of at least P1.1 million in peoples money.

Auditors said that the P60 million worth of fuel which the city bought from Phoenix Petroleum Philippines was higher by 15 percent or P2.66 per liter as compared to the pump price set by the Department of Energy.

Fuel amounting to P8.3 million and which the city bought from Evolve Marketing Corp. was 16 percent more expensive.

Drugs and medicine purchase for the Cebu City Medical Center was also found to be overpriced by at least P11.6 million.

COA found that the city paid its private suppliers a total of P2.3 million for hospital purchases which only actually cost P685, 568 if bought from DOH – operated retail pharmacies.

Drugs and medicine purchase for the Cebu City Medical Center were also found to be overpriced by at least P11.6 million.

Three factors affected the increased fuel price, city officials told auditors during their exit conference.

One of the need to deliver fuel to the city’s batching plant in Budlaan required because of the terrain. The also had to use double axle tankers and over head pump trucks for the elevated storage of deisel.

Second, deliveries were done on a staggered basis because of limited storage tanks.

Lastly, the city government added a “small amount” to the pump price in consideration of delays in the processing of payments and to continue to encourage suppliers who normally transact using their cash on delivery scheme.

City officials told COA that any delays in the delivery of fuel will also affect the city’s already hectic asphalting schedule.

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