Philippines
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COA flags senior citizens' commission over non-appointment of needed personnel
COA flags senior citizens' commission over non-appointment of needed personnel
Only 43 or 19 percent out of 224 positions in the National Commission for Senior Citizens (NCSC) have been filled up since its creation in 2019 and the Commission on Audit (COA) has expressed apprehension that the agency's lack of manpower might weaken its capability to fulfill its mandated functions.
In its annual audit report (AAR), the COA said that 16 posts are currently in the process of being filled up and the remaining 165 positions or 74 percent remained vacant as of 2022 despite the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM's) approval of the NCSC's organizational structure and plantilla positions.
It said a large chunk of organizational offices or functional units remain unfilled, such as the Executive Director/Legal and Information Management (88 percent unfilled), Administrative and Finance (61 percent unfilled), and Program Operations and Planning Bureau (81 percent unfilled).
"Worst, none has been recruited and expected to be on board for the eight clustered regional offices," COA also said.
Given the NCSC's current recruitment scale, the COA said the senior citizens commission would be unable to fulfill its mandate to its beneficiary and stakeholders who are considered as one of the most vulnerable sectors of society.
COA pointed out that lack of manpower has already weakened the internal control mechanism of the commission, and there are several areas which were affected: travel and disbursement related to travel, trainings, consultancy contracts, bank reconciliation, and recording of accrual, among many other things.
"We noticed that none yet has been hired as Executive Director which is expected to be responsible for implementing policies and directives of the Commission. Program Operations and Planning Bureau is still scarce of manpower as none has been hired and only six are expected to be onboard in the coming days," the COA said.
"While we acknowledge the infancy of the NCSC as an organization, it is worthy to point out these weaknesses and the associated risks it brings to the organization," it said.
The COA has recommended that the NCSC start developing an action plan for recruitment and hiring, and send out invitations to personnel who already have job experience such as those from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).