COA orders return of P815M illegal benefits

MANILA, Philippines – A total of P815.42 million in unauthorized incentives should be returned to government coffers by officials and employees of 23 government-owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCCs), the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

The said illegal benefits – including allowances, benefits, and incentives – were disbursed in 2013 by the GOCCs, according to the COA’s 2013 Annual Financial Report on GOCCs.

The report said these “personnel allowances, benefits, bonuses, [and] incentives [were] granted or paid without legal basis.” Employees and officials are ordered to refund the amounts they received.

The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) led the list of agencies with illegal benefits, disbursing a total of P436.18 million.

The GOCCs with the biggest unauthorized disbursements are:

1. Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), P436.18 million
2. Duty Free Philippines Corp. (DFPC), P141.27 million
3. Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig Fund), P130.38 million
4. National Housing Authority (NHA), P48.71 million
5. Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), P14.36 million
6. Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), P11.71 million
7. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), P9.92 million
8. National Transmission Corp. (TransCo), P5.74 million
9. National Power Corp. (NPC), P4.70 million
10. Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), P2.91 million

These illegal benefits are actually lower than those paid to officials and employees of GOCCs in the previous fiscal year. In 2012, the COA reported a total of P2.31 billion in questionable benefits given by GOCCs.

The report was officially released last October 20, but was submitted to the Office of the President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives only last Wednesday, October 29.

Other agencies with unauthorized disbursements listed in the report include DBP Management Corp, DBP Data Center Inc (DCI), Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp (IBC), Philippine Crop Insurance Corp (PCIC), Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp (PDIC), Philippine Mining Development Corp (PMDC), Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp (PNOC-EC), PNOC Renewables Corp, Philippine Postal Savings Bank Inc (PPSBI), Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), Power Sector and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM), Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Heath Care (PTAHC), and the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP). – Rappler.com