CoA questions House over deficient equipment receipts

The Commission on Audit (CoA) found lapses when it came to the accomplishment of 454 Property Acknowledgement Receipts (PARs) at the House of Representatives meant to establish ownership of a government property or equipment by a particular official.

State auditors noted that a bulk of the PARs were not properly accomplished while another portion were not signed, going against the provisions of the Government Accounting Manual for Government Agencies.

The audit found that 412 receipts did not indicate the date when the equipment was received nor the issuance of the same from the designated Property Custodian, preventing the agency from establishing a specific timelines for the mandatory renewal of the PAR.

The remaining documents, meanwhile, reportedly lacked signatures from concerned personnel, leaving the issuance and receipt of equipment or property unconfirmed.

It was further noted that there were two PARs that were meant for motor vehicles distributed to personnel from the lower chamber that were also part of the deficient receipts.

State auditors said that the issue mainly revolved around the difference in process when it came to the practice of issuing the receipts.

It was stated that the issuance was previously handled by the Transport Facilities Group before later being handed over to the Procurement and Supply Management Service (PSMS), which also led to the need for an additional requirement.

The inspection of the documents submitted for the two motor vehicles revealed that only one requirement was accomplished while failing to comply with the other.

“Consequently, the effect is as if no PARs were maintained to establish accountability for the motor vehicles,” the report read.

CoA underscored that the importance of a PAR was to ensure accountability in the handling of government property.

It said that such a requirement was meant as a safeguard intended for government assets to be protected while also certifying property records were accurate and reliable.