DILG closes P13 million trust fund accounts

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has closed four trust fund accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), amounting to over P12.98 million, in compliance with recommendations from the Commission on Audit (COA).

In a statement issued last Dec. 28, the DILG noted that it got flagged by the COA for maintaining the “unauthorized” accounts, stating that their creation and retention as of the end of 2023 lacked legal basis.

“The accounts served as depository accounts for funds received from other national government agencies,” the DILG clarified.

“The accounts were created to ensure the prompt release of funds to support the implementation of various programs and projects,” it added.

Two accounts – the P1.73-million RO IX Trust Regular Account and the DILG-NCR Local Government Academy Special Project Account with P111,009.42 – had already been closed.

Meanwhile, the agency is in the process of closing the remaining accounts: the P1.116-million DILG-National Capital Region Special Project Account and the P10.025-million DILG Central Office Trust Account.

For the Central Office Trust Account, the DILG has returned P2.363 million in unutilized funds to the source agency.

Additionally, P5.834 million, sourced from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Fire Protection-Interagency Task Force (BFP-IATF), had already been utilized.

The remaining balance of P199,627.90 from the BFP-IATF fund will cover unpaid claims before any residual amount is remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) by yearend.

The DILG is also working with the BTr to open a Modified Disbursement System Trust Account with LBP. This new account, expected to be operational by this month, will be used for fund transfers entrusted to the agency.