The local government of Malabon City has denied allegations that at least P37 million is missing from its coffers based on the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) 2023 Executive Summary report.
According to the report’s Operational Highlights, state auditors identified a P4.265-billion year-end balance in the Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) accounts.
However, this balance was deemed unreliable due to the lack of proper descriptions for an amount of P37.638 million.
In a statement, the local government said that all needed documents to back up the projects were submitted to the CoA in 2023, and that there were “no issues of non-compliance with the agency’s requirements.”
“Currently, we are ensuring that all documents submitted to the CoA are complete and in order. We can confidently say that there will be no issues with submitting the required documents for the city’s projects in 2023,” said Malabon City administrator Dr. Alexander Rosete.
Citing the lack of appropriate descriptions on certain city accounts, the state auditors urged Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval to order the City Accounting Department to determine the compositions and details of the PPE items, and the Inventory Committee to establish the costs of the 41 units of the PPE items in line with Item 6.2.12 of CoA Circular No. 2020-006.
To recall, the CoA flagged 35 individuals in September including Mayor Sandoval for spending P304,095.32 each on a six-day trip to Japan.
The city administrator added that they are ensuring that all documents needed by the CoA are complete and that they are thoroughly communicating with the commission.