MCIAA ordered to refund bonuses, cash dividends

CEBU - The Commission on Audit ordered the officials and employees of Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority to refund a total of P17.9 million representing their anniversary bonus and performance-based bonus because the money was allegedly given to them illegally.

COA said the granting of such fringe benefits was without legal basis because one of the basic requirements applicable to all classes of disbursement is the availability of funds, as provided by the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual.

“The airport officials cannot claim that funds are available since the approved corporate operating budget for year 2007 was sent to MCIAA in April 2007 by the Department of Budget and Management with the notation on year-end incentive as without legal basis,” the state auditors said.

It would mean that the DBM – after carefully evaluating the proposed budget for the year-end incentives of MCIAA officials and employees – disallowed the disbursement for lack of basis.

Among the expenses incurred by MCIAA in December 2007 was P17,981,374 representing the grant of P10,000 across-the-board anniversary bonus to each of the employees, including the MCIAA officials, employees and members of the Board.

The performance bonus is equivalent to one month salary for a satisfactory performance and one and one half months salary for a very satisfactory performance. Aside from the P10,000 anniversary bonus, each of the Board of Directors reportedly received another P40,000 performance bonus.

COA said the concerned officials and employees who received such incentives should refund the government of the whole amount that they received. COA also warned MCIAA to refrain from making the same disbursements this year.

But the MCIAA officials maintained that the Board of Directors has the authority to approve benefits for all officers and employees of MCIAA.

To clarify the issue, MCIAA decided to bring the matter before the court by filing a petition for declaratory relief with DBM and COA as defendants.

Meanwhile, COA also discovered that the disbursement of P13.6 million as cash dividends for MCIAA officials and employees last year was unauthorized and that the same should also be refunded.

MCIAA had insisted of granting the cash dividends to all of its personnel, including the Board of Directors and the legal consultant, even if their request was disapproved by the DBM in a letter dated March 16, 2007.

Still, the MCIAA officials claimed that they are not required to submit a budget to the DBM, thus the disapproval by DBM “has no relevance.”

COA again uncovered another irregularity in the fiscal management of MCIAA when the airport officials spent P2,144,000 for discretionary and extraordinary expenses without documentary support to justify the expenditures.

COA claimed it has sent several letters to the airport authorities requesting them to adhere to the prescribed rules and regulations for spending public funds, but MCIAA allegedly just ignored the requests. — Rene U. Borromeo/JM (THE FREEMAN)