‘Solgens got millions in excess allowances’

MANILA, Philippines - Within six months of assuming office, Solicitor General Jose Calida got P1.12 million in excess allowance while his predecessor, Florin Hilbay, got P4.66 million in six months before stepping down, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

In an audit report posted on its website on Wednesday, the COA said Calida, Hilbay and 15 other OSG lawyers received excess honoraria and allowances amounting to P8.56 million in 2016.

The amount was paid by OSG’s client agencies for the legal services and advice the government lawyers have rendered.

The OSG denied any anomaly in the allowances of its lawyers.

OSG spokesman Erik Dy said their lawyers are authorized to receive allowances and honoraria for legal services rendered to client agencies. 

“This is due to the government’s intention to attract the best the brightest lawyers to work and build a career at the OSG,” Dy said a statement.

State auditors said the honoraria and allowances that Calida, Hilbay and other state lawyers received exceeded 50 percent of their annual basic salary, which is a violation of the COA Circular 85-25-E.

Calida succeeded Hilbay on June 30, 2016.

The report said Calida and Hilbay’s basic salary for 2016 amounted to P702,516 each, and that their allowances should only be P351,258 each.

Calida and Hilbay received P1.48 million and P5.1 million in honoraria and allowances in 2016, respectively, the COA said.

The agency said it issued 15 notices of disallowance (NDs) in February 2014 and August 2016, prohibiting the grant of excess allowances to some OSG officials.

The NDs are under appeal at the COA central office. 

The figures showed that of the P8.56 million in excess allowance, P2.747 million was received by OSG officials from the client agencies, while the rest was coursed through the OSG Financial Management Service (FMS).

Calida and Hilbay received P342,500 and P466,000, respectively from client agencies, the report said.

Most of the amounts received by OSG officials from the client agencies were not reported to the OSG FMS despite an agency’s order requiring them to do so.

At least eight client agencies confirmed to have given honoraria and allowance to several OSG officials amounting to P3.372 million. The receipts were not recorded in the FMS. – With Edu Punay