MANILA, Philippines – Unliquidated cash advances made by various government agencies have reached almost P2.4 billion, the Office of the Ombudsman said Tuesday.
The Department of Education (DepEd) topped a list of nine government agencies that failed to properly account their cash advances, according to Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr.
The DepEd’s cash advances amounted to P1.6 billion, followed by the Commission on Elections with P406 million, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) with P313 million.
The other agencies tagged by the Ombudsman are the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of National Defense, the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine Ports Authority, and the National Police Commission.
“Kami ay medyo wary dahil napakalaki ng amount. Iyung resident Ombudsmen namin pumunta sa accounting at finance officers at humingi ng liquidation reports,” de Jesus said. “Nabigla kami.”
He said the cash advances were made under the Arroyo administration.
The Ombudsman wants the salaries of officials and employees of the said agencies to be frozen until the cash advances are properly liquidated.
“Hindi namin sinasabi sa ngayon na may korapsyon na o graft. Pero ang simpleng inquiry, ga-graduate sa pormal na imbestigasyon at pagsasampa ng kaso kapag hindi pa rin naliquidate ito,” de Jesus warned.
Commission on Audit (COA) rules require government agencies to properly liquidate cash advances and the operating expenses they incur.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is supporting the Ombudsman’s move. “That is just proper and right for the Ombudsman to do that,” she said. “Tama iyun (na) ang mga unliquidated advances, dapat imbestigahan.”
De Jesus said newly installed heads of government agencies are not seen as responsible for the cash advances.
However, the new officials will face administrative charges if they fail to submit liquidation reports within the 10-day period that the Ombudsman has given them to file the reports.
Officials who fail to properly account for personal expenses will also face criminal charges, de Jesus added.
DepEd: Most cash advances liquidated
The DepEd said on Tuesday that it has liquidated most of the cash advances made under the former administration.
“Initial reports reflect that of the amount mentioned by Ombudsman (Merceditas) Gutierrez, P1.6 billion already liquidated as of June 30. When Secretary Armin Luistro came in, only P653 million remained and being liquidated until this time,” the department said in a statement.
The DepEd added that it has already frozen the salaries of officials and employees in its central office.
“We will need some time to review the report before we can implement the recommendation of the Ombudsman in our field offices,” the department added.
“Some (officials and employees) may have valid reasons why the amount remains unliquidated,” the DepEd said. “If there are some we find that will require administrative sanctions, we will act on them as well.” – with a report from Ina Reformina
