Following the recommendations of the Commission on Audit (CoA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced Saturday, that it has closed its four trust fund accounts at the LandBank of the Philippines (LBP) with an aggregate amount of over P12.98-million.

Earlier, the CoA flagged the DILG for maintaining four unauthorized bank accounts stating that their creation and retention as of yearend 2023 “have no legal basis.”

Depository accounts

The agency said the accounts were used as depository accounts for funds from other national government agencies. The accounts were created to ensure the prompt release of funds to support the implementation of various programs and projects, it explained, said the DILG.

According to the DILG, it had closed a P1.73-million RO IX Trust Regular Account and the DILG-NCR Local Government Academy Special Project Account with P111,009.42.

Meanwhile, the DILG is processing the closing of the P1.116-million DILG-NCR Special Project Account and the P10.025-million DILG Central Office Trust Account.

For the latter, the Department has returned the unutilized P2.363-million balance to the source agency; and has utilized the P5.834-million from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Fire Protection-Interagency Task Force (BFP-IATF).

Used for unpaid claims

As of today, the BFP-IATF Fund balance of P199,627.90 shall be utilized for unpaid claims, after which, any remaining balances shall be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) at year-end.

The DILG is now coordinating with the BTr to open the Modified Disbursement System Trust Account under LBP. This account will be used for fund transfers granted or entrusted to the Department and may take effect in January 2025.