The Commission on Audit (CoA) has called out the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) over P11.9 million in relocation allowances granted to its officers, whose rates were adjusted without the approval of the Office of the President, in violation of the law.

An audit showed the DFA incurred a total of P143 million in relocation allowances from January to December 2023. Of the figure, P11,865,938.57 was not compliant with the provisions of Republic Act 7157 or the Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991.

State auditors discovered that the grant of the allowance given to officers and employees relocated to newly opened posts was adjusted with a “lack of approval of applied rates, indices, maximum allowable amounts and policies on allowances from the Office of the President.”

According to the CoA, the rates, indices, and maximum allowable amounts for the relocation allowances were justified through the issuance of additional department orders, citing Section 11 of Executive Order No. 156.

“However, a review of the EO revealed that it provides rates for overseas living quarters, representation, and family allowances for foreign service personnel and not for a relocation allowance. Thus, it cannot be used as [a] legal basis,” the CoA said.

Section 64 of RA 7157 provides that government officials and employees stationed abroad are entitled to multiple allowances, such as overseas and living quarters with rates, indices, and maximum allowable amounts and policies, subject to the President’s approval upon the recommendation of the DFA secretary.

Meanwhile, Section 74 of the same law states that any government officer or employee on assignment or in a post shall be entitled to a relocation allowance in such amounts and within such limitations as may be prescribed pursuant to Section 64.

However, the state auditing body found that the expansion of the amount for the relocation allowances was modeled after the overseas and living quarters, necessitating approval from the President’s office.