The Commission on Audit (COA) has tasked local government units (LGUs) to issue guidelines on the use of donated goods and financial assistance, and to assure all disbursements are supported with proper documentation.

In cited the case of Pamplona town in Cagayan province on the disposal of the P2.48 million worth of donated goods and financial assistance in 2023.

During the 2023 audit, the COA said that state auditors found that Pamplona granted P2.48 million worth of donations and financial assistance in 2023 without appropriate and complete documentation due to the municipality’s non-establishment of a well-defined policy and guidelines on the grant of financial assistance.

What Pamplona did violated Sections 2 and 4(6) of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 and Section 335 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160, the COA said.

It pointed out that PD 1445 states that "claims against government funds shall be supported with complete documentation," while RA 7160 issued guidelines as to whom and where the donations must be given.

It said that during the review of the disbursements made by Pamplona town from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, it was found that P2,480,980 worth of donations and financial assistance were given for various purposes such as burial, medical, sports development, repair and maintenance of school facilities, and educational assistance.

It also said that donations and financial assistance were given to private individuals or groups, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Education (DepEd), and barangays (villages).

"However, in our evaluation and review, it was observed that the municipality has no well-defined policy and guidelines on the grant of financial assistance that may serve as a criteria in the assessment of eligibility of beneficiaries, setting the amounts to be given for each type of assistance and the required supporting documents to be submitted," COA's audit report stated.

Because of the absence of a clear-cut policy and uniform implementation in the grant of donations, the audit team found several deficiencies were made, it said.

It cited as examples the financial assistance given to various individuals, schools and barangays, which ranged from P1,500 to P85,000 "without a clear basis on how the amounts granted were determined."

Several financial assistance were also granted to private individuals or groups, other national government agencies, and barangays for purposes of attending conventions, various competitions, traveling allowances, fiestas or festivals, founding anniversaries, and team building activities, it said.

At the same time, the COA said its auditors noticed that some claims were only supported with letter-requests, and the grant of donations and financial assistance became "subjective and arbitrary" in the municipality.

The COA said: "The purpose of granting financial assistance to the less privileged constituents is to alleviate primarily the burden and difficulties they encounter in life. However, in practice, the assistance extended and granted did not pass through proper screening due to absence of a pre-determined criteria before the beneficiary can avail of the same."

It then asked Pamplona's Sangguniang Bayan to enact a resolution prescribing the policies and guidelines on the grant of donations or financial assistance, which should contain the kind of financial assistance given - be it for medical, educational, and funeral, among other things.

They should also set approval limits for specific cases, including the frequency of grants to each individual, as well as set the criteria in the granting of donation and the documentary requirements for each particular assistance, it also said.