Soliman answers COA report on dubious CCT beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines - Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Soliman has submitted a report to President Aquino explaining the department’s side on the Commission on Audit’s 2013 findings that it issued cash grants to dubious beneficiaries in the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

Speaking over radio dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said yesterday it was not the first time that COA had such observations on the CCT implementation.

“In our past experience, the DSWD always gets to answer the audit observations of COA to their satisfaction,” Valte said.

“What happened was that management’s response was not included in the COA report, and I understand that it was submitted by DSWD in November.”

Valte said it is important that COA include the response of the DSWD so there will be no misinterpretation or misimpression about the report.

“In the past years, the data are left behind...the data from the regional offices sometimes do not make it to the cut off, so the central office needs to pull them so they can be turned over to COA. But so far, our experience has proven that DSWD can always answer these observations of COA,” Valte said.

Soliman had earlier maintained that state auditors were merely seeking documentation of the program implementation and did not indicate any suspicion of misuse of funds, and that the DSWD already submitted its clarifications on the audit observations to COA.

Reports said that out of the P10.626 billion transferred by the DSWD to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the payment of cash grants for 2013, only P10.295 billion was utilized or disbursed as of Dec. 31, 2013, leaving a balance of around P330 million.

This represents an unpaid amount intended for beneficiaries in eight regions, some P91.929 million of which were unclaimed grants of active beneficiaries in Regions 4-A, 6, 9 and CARAGA.