Robredo's office 'stricter' on liquidation of travel expenses
By Roel Tibay
Published Jun 30, 2018 09:14 pm
By Raymund Antonio
With the annual Commission on Audit (COA) report on its employees’ unliquidated cash advances for their trips, the Office of the Vice President has taken “stricter” measures to address delays in the liquidation of their travel expenses.
Vice President Leni Robredo
(OVP / MANILA BULLETIN) In response to the COA findings, the OVP said it has set “clearer guidelines” concerning the handling of cash advances by its staffers. “Full details of these steps taken by the OVP were communicated to COA in a letter sent in March,” OVP Undersecretary Boyet Dy said, when asked for comment on the audit report. Dy, who is also Vice President Leni Robredo’s chief of staff, said these include “withholding of compensation for the accountable staff subject to the full liquidation of advances.” The OVP wrote Auditor Edna Salaguban that it has established internal control through Office Order No. 2018-02 dated January 25, 2018 to ensure the timelines over the office’s spending are followed. In its 2017 audit report, COA flagged Robredo’s office for the failure of its 33 employees to liquidate their cash advances within the prescribed period of 30 days upon their return. Delays in liquidation ranged from two days to 116 days, which is a violation of the Government Accounting Manual. The COA said that OVP’s traveling expenses last year amounted to P26.45 million and P953,550 for local and foreign trips, respectively, or a total of P27.4 million. “Neglect of management to demand the immediate refund of unused/excess cash advances and the submission of liquidation reports within the period prescribed renders inaccuracies in the financial statements,” it said. But responding to the latest audit report, Dy said all of listed cash advances in the COA report "have already been fully liquidated." In the same letter of OVP to COA, it explained the reasons behind the delays in the liquidation of employees’ cash advances were as follow: unclear documentary requirements, lack of proper employee orientation, and frequency of travels of the concerned employees. OVP said it has implemented various policies to address the above-mentioned "gaps" and improve its system. "Out of 21 issued cash advances which were due as of March 15, 2018, 17 have been fully liquidated within the prescribed 30-day period," it said.
Vice President Leni Robredo(OVP / MANILA BULLETIN) In response to the COA findings, the OVP said it has set “clearer guidelines” concerning the handling of cash advances by its staffers. “Full details of these steps taken by the OVP were communicated to COA in a letter sent in March,” OVP Undersecretary Boyet Dy said, when asked for comment on the audit report. Dy, who is also Vice President Leni Robredo’s chief of staff, said these include “withholding of compensation for the accountable staff subject to the full liquidation of advances.” The OVP wrote Auditor Edna Salaguban that it has established internal control through Office Order No. 2018-02 dated January 25, 2018 to ensure the timelines over the office’s spending are followed. In its 2017 audit report, COA flagged Robredo’s office for the failure of its 33 employees to liquidate their cash advances within the prescribed period of 30 days upon their return. Delays in liquidation ranged from two days to 116 days, which is a violation of the Government Accounting Manual. The COA said that OVP’s traveling expenses last year amounted to P26.45 million and P953,550 for local and foreign trips, respectively, or a total of P27.4 million. “Neglect of management to demand the immediate refund of unused/excess cash advances and the submission of liquidation reports within the period prescribed renders inaccuracies in the financial statements,” it said. But responding to the latest audit report, Dy said all of listed cash advances in the COA report "have already been fully liquidated." In the same letter of OVP to COA, it explained the reasons behind the delays in the liquidation of employees’ cash advances were as follow: unclear documentary requirements, lack of proper employee orientation, and frequency of travels of the concerned employees. OVP said it has implemented various policies to address the above-mentioned "gaps" and improve its system. "Out of 21 issued cash advances which were due as of March 15, 2018, 17 have been fully liquidated within the prescribed 30-day period," it said.