The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) committed to working with the Commission on Audit (COA) in its vital role of promoting transparency in government despite the latter citing the agency for supposed "non-submission" of its financial documents for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica made the statement after COA published its annual audit reports on national government agencies for FY 2020, including a management letter stating ARTA's non-submission of financial reports, vouchers, and other documents within the prescribed period.
In a statement, Belgica clarified that ARTA had already submitted its financial documents and other pertinent issuances on July 30, 2021, after receiving a demand letter from COA on July 16, 2021, that ordered the agency to turn over the said documents within 10 working days.
In its management letter dated June 11, 2021, COA stated that ARTA was not able to submit its financial statements and other necessary documents on April 30, 2021.
Belgica explained that ARTA has always been transparent with its struggles amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and lack of personnel as a newly formed agency.
"Following COA's recommendations, we have instructed the chief of our Human Resource Development Division to craft an internal policy on the proper turnover of personnel and recruited more manpower for our Accounting Office," he said.
"To date, five of the six plantilla positions in the Finance Division have already been filled up. We have also hired three administrative assistants under Contract of Service to support the Accounting and Budget Unit of the Finance Division," he added.
A plantilla is a government-approved listing of positions in any governmental institution.
Despite this, Belgica said ARTA is fully committed to cooperate and move with transparency with the COA team.
"Transparency is in line with our mandate of making government services more efficient," he said.
"As a very new agency, we continue to improve as we go, and we hope that as we add on to our personnel component, we will become what we are striving to become, which is an agency worthy to be followed and trusted by others," he added.
"We will continue to work in close coordination with COA. Their valuable and indispensable observations will greatly help us stay on track in complying with the law and becoming a model agency," he continued.