PCOO agency flagged over P1.8 million meal expenses

MANILA, Philippines — State auditors have called out an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) over questionable meal expenses totaling P1.83 million last year.

In its annual audit report on the Bureau of Broadcast Services (BBS), the Commission on Audit (COA) said the agency spent a total of P2.356 million in 2019, credited under its representation expenses for meals supposedly served during various meetings.

Of the total expenditures, the audit body said P1.83 million “was not supported with documents.”

The BBS is an attached agency of the PCOO, which operates 33 radio stations nationwide.

Government auditors said the P1.83 million expenses were attached with meal receipts, which do not prove the BBS claim that these were incurred during official meetings.

The audit body cited Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines and COA Circular No. 2012-001, which both state that all types of disbursement of government funds must be supported with sufficient and relevant documents to establish validity of claims.

The COA said the BBS could have supported its disbursement claims with agenda of the meetings, minutes of the meetings, attendance sheets with signatures of the attendees as well as photos and videos of the meetings.

“The verification made on the disbursement vouchers showed that only certifications and receipts for meals were attached to the vouchers to support the P1,830,720.52 thus, propriety and authenticity of the claim is doubtful,” the COA said.

The audit body said a certification that a meeting was held was nothing but a “self-serving document” if it was not corroborated with other documents.

The COA recommended to the BBS to submit documents that would support the disbursement to avoid the issuance of a Notice of Disallowance (ND) against the agency.

The COA usually issues an ND for irregular expenses to legally compel the concerned government agency or official to reimburse the disallowed amount.

“The BBS management assured the audit team that they would submit the needed documents to support the claims and adhere to the documentary requirements as prescribed,” the COA said.