Account for P99-M cash advances, CoA orders DA

The Commission on Audit has brought attention to the Department of Agriculture for its failure to account for cash advances totaling P99.097 million to the Procurement Service — Department of Budget and Management, or PS-DBM, for supplies and equipment across 13 of its offices by the end of 2022.

In its audit report, CoA said the sum was part of P144,374,524.92 cash advances DA made to the PS-DBM in 2022 and for prior years.

Of the P144.375 million, 68.64 percent or P99,096,664.13 was not liquidated owing to the lack of reconciliation of the balances and lack of demand by the DA to deliver all the items or refund the remaining advances.

The irregularities, state auditors said, run counter to Section 6.7 of CoA Circular No. 94-013, mandating that it is the duty and responsibility of the implementing agency to return to the source agency any unused balance upon the completion of the project.

Likewise, it contravened Section 5.4 of the same circular, requiring that the source agency shall mandate the implementing agency to submit necessary reports and furnish a copy of the journal voucher taking up the expenditures.

Under the rules and regulations of Executive Order 359, the PS-DBM shall be maintained as the regular organization unit to implement and operate a central procurement system.

Section 4 (b) provides that agencies shall remit funds to the PS-DBM needed to service their supplies, materials, and equipment requirements.

Among the 13 offices of the DA that accumulated the unliquidated advances were the Philippine Rural Development Project, Agricultural Training Institute, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering, Bureau of Soils and Water Management, its central office, and various regional field offices.

PRDP and RFO IV-B informed auditors that prior years' fund transfers, which have remained unliquidated, were due to inadequate supporting documents obtained from PS-DBM.

The offices plan to coordinate closely with PS-DBM to require the submission of liquidation reports.

Meanwhile, it assured that the 2022 unliquidated funds will be utilized this year.

CoA ordered the 13 offices under the DA to strictly monitor all fund transfers to PS-DBM and make a representation for the immediate delivery of the needed supplies and equipment and/or refund the unutilized balance, conduct reconciliation of records, and the submission of necessary reports and documents to facilitate the liquidation of the fund transfers.