Cebu City Hall employees are worried over a notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the P20,000 calamity aid given to them in December 2013.
“Unsaon man nako pag bayad ug pabayran gyud na namo (How will I pay it if I am required to refund the amount),” said Jenny, who barely earns P20,000 as a casual employee.
Dennis, another City Hall employee, hopes the COA will allow a staggered repayment scheme to be deducted on his salary “aron mabinlan pa sad ko ug pang kunsomo sa akong pamilya (so there’s something left for my family’s consumption),” he said.
State Auditor Cymbeline Celia Chiong-Uy is asking recipients of the P20,000 cash assistance to immediately settle the disallowance.
She said the notice dated June 23, 2014 stated that the disallowance will be implemented six months after its receipt.
Acting City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas said she didn’t see a copy of the notice of disallowance but was told about it by Acting City Accountant Mark Rossel Salomon last Friday.
Concern
A meeting was supposed to be scheduled next Monday to discuss the COA order but Cuevas said she had other prior commitments to attend to. The Cebu City government will appeal the notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the P20,000 calamity assistance.
“It can always be addressed especially that there’s no corruption and it went to the individual employees,” Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said. He said he instructed City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella to address this concern.
The mayor said the COA should understand that the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda traumatized City Hall employees.
“That’s only a statement (to return the money). We will fight it out. I will never allow that employees will get into something that they received in good faith,” Rama said.
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