Gov’t lost over P100-B to graft in 2011 – COA

MANILA, Philippines – The government lost P101.816 billion to graft and corruption in 2011, according to a report released by the Commission on Audit.
 
The paper, called “Audit Performance Summary Report for CY 2011,” was the first of its kind ever drafted by the COA and was released last September 27.

Copies of the report were sent by COA chairperson Ma. Gracia M. Pulido Tan to President Benigno Aquino III, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr., Senate Committee on Finance chairman Franklin M. Drilon and House Appropriations Committee chairman Joseph Emilio A. Abaya (now Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication).

The Aquino government has vowed to reduce graft and corruption in government. Business groups and various sectors have given the administration high satisfaction ratings in terms of its efforts to weed out corruption in the bureaucracy.

But the COA report shows a lot needs to be done.

“For CY 2011, unauthorized/irregular/unnecessary expenses, unliquidated cash advances, violations of the Procurement Act, underassessment/under collection, unutilized/ineffective projects and lack of appropriation constituted the most number of cases where the public coffers suffered unwarranted loss,” COA disclosed.
 
The report listed 19 schemes by which various government agencies siphoned off huge sums of taxpayers’ money.
 
Based on computations by state auditors, the biggest problem was “under-assessment or under-collection” where government lost P20.813 billion based on 157 cases of irregularities recorded.
 
According to COA’s 2009 Revised Rules of Audit, under-assessment or under-collection happens when a government collecting agency fails to properly appraise revenue that is supposed to be paid to the government.

Profligate bureaucrats
 
Profligacy or reckless spending came a close second, accounting for P18.654 billion. The report listed 1,642 cases of “unauthorized, irregular or unnecessary expenses.”
 
Questionable government supply contracts including those without public bidding or not in accordance with the provisions of RA No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, was at third spot, costing the public P15.163 billion last year. COA recorded 692 contracts that fell under this category.
 
Some 104 “unutilized and/or ineffective projects” worth P13.584 billion was at no.4 followed by P7.534 billion in unliquidated cash advances involving 1,003 cases.

Others in the top 10 are:
 

• Unliquidated cash transfers – P6.8-B
• Fictitious claims/expenses –  P5.199-B
• Unremitted/uncollected incomes – P3.512-B
• Unimplemented projects/unutilized funds – P3.276-B
• Delayed implementation or suspended projects – P2.554-B

 
As of December 2011, COA said it has referred 744 cases to the Office of the Ombudsman for legal, civil and administrative action.
 
These involved various projects and activities of the government with a total value of P7.43 billion.
 
The cases included recommendations for the filing of 78 indictments for graft and corruption, 451 charges for malversation of public funds and properties, and other offenses.
 
“The COA is closely working with the OMB to ensure the successful investigation and prosecution of cases against officials and employees involved in graft and corruption and violation of pertinent laws and rules in government operations,” auditors said in the report. – Rappler.com