COA to Phivolcs: Return excess bonus

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has demanded a refund of some P4.058 million in excess bonus granted to officials and employees of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) last year.

In a report released over the weekend, state auditors said Phivolcs executives and personnel received a total of P9.036 million in longevity pay due to miscomputations.

“The computation made... was inconsistent with the computation provided in Item 13.7 of DBM-DOST (Department of Budget and Management-Department of Science and Technology) Joint Circular 1, S. 2013,” the COA report stated.

State auditors said a notice of disallowance would be issued for the excessive payments.