Osmeña case prospers; city treasurer charged

THE Civil Service Commission (CSC) has charged Cebu City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas for “gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service” in relation to the cases filed by former mayor Tomas Osmeña against her.

The order dated December 18 last year, was  received by Cuevas on Thursday.  She was given 72 hours to file her reply.  Cuevas said she is ready to answer the charges but still has to consult her lawyer.

SC Director IV Karin Litz Zerna said they found a prima facie case against Cuevas.

The three-page CSC resolution mentioned reasons for charging Cuevas.

They cited a 2012 Commission on  Audit (COA) report  which gave an adverse opinion due to irregularity, insufficiency and omissions in various records of transactions of the Cebu City government, including the Accounting Department that was then headed by Cuevas.

COA noted the negative balances and unliquidated cash advances as of December 31, 2012.

It also said that Cebu City understated its revenue accounts by P20.4 million and failed to transfer the P105.3 million balance of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund to a  special trust fund in 2012.

They also cited the status of implementation of the 2012 COA audit report which stated that out of  12 findings and recommendations, four were fully implemented, six were partially implemented and two were not implemented.

As City Accountant, the CSC said Cuevas should be responsible for both the accounting and internal audit services of the local government to ensure fiscal control.