Cebu Provincial government has not properly accounted for cash donations received for disaster risk reduction and management. That is according to the state auditors. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Capitol has failed to account in detail the donations and utilization of funds for disaster risk reduction and management in 2018.
State auditors have noted in their Annual Audit Report for 2018 that the provincial government was unable to “prepare and maintain the required records and reports on cash donations it received for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM),” as prescribed by the Commission.
In its Memorandum Circular 2014-002, the state auditors issued guidelines on the proper reporting of the donations received by the province for DRRM in order to promote transparency and accountability in the use of the disaster funds.
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Based on the COA Memorandum Circular, donations above P100,000 should be recorded in a separate subsidiary ledger (SL) under “Trust Liabilities-LDRRMF” while those below P100,000 should be grouped and posted as “Various Donations.”
But Commission on Audit’s (COA) 2018 AAR pointed out that the province’s book of accounts only lumped donations ranging from P100,000 to P5 million into six subsidiary ledger (SL) accounts, namely: STEER-CEBU, National Government Agencies (NGAs), Other Local Government Units (LGUs), Other Sources, International Aid, and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
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The AAR also said that the Capitol has failed to comply with the monthly report on the receipt and utilization of cash donations, which was supposed to be submitted to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), COA, Provincial Budget Office and the Provincial Accounting unit.
“As a consequence of inadequate records and improper recording of cash donations, the agency deprived its donors and other concerned stakeholders and the public in general of quality financial reports that provide detailed information on the status of utilization thereof for each donor per purpose,” the AAR commented.
With these observations having been relayed to the province since the end of the third quarter in 2018, state auditors said that the Accounting and Budget offices of the Capitol commented that they were not apprised of the guidelines set forth by COA and agreed that they would go over the COA Circular and abide by it moving forward./dbs