Teachers asked to refund pay received while absent

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Audit has strongly recommended that the 1,770 public elementary school teachers in Cebu and in other parts of the region be made to refund a total of P3 million in salaries that they have received from 2004 to 2007 even if they were absent.

COA uncovered some documents from the financial transactions of the Department of Education, which showed that the Regional Payroll Services Unit failed to deduct Leave Without Pay and “undertime” without pay of teachers amounting to P3,033,358.

The state auditors found out that the Regional Payroll Services Units in five other regions of the country also failed to deduct the leaves without pay of their teachers. The total for all six regions is P31.2 million.

Under the DepEd payroll service manual and DepEd memorandum No. 4 on the implementation of decentralization of elementary payroll, absences without pay should be a mandatory deduction of the teachers’ salaries.

The procedure is that the mandatory deduction shall be reflected under the Deduction for Absences (DEDABS) column of the computerized payroll system.

Then the school shall accomplish the monthly payroll worksheet and report of service (Form 7) based on the daily time records of the teachers.

The accomplished forms, duly certified by the school principals, shall be submitted to the DepEd regional office on the 10th month.

COA said when it conducted audit of the regular payroll for both elementary and secondary schools personnel in six regions, including in Central Visayas, it was found out that the leaves and undertimes without pay amounting to P31,243,864 were not deducted.

The Regional Payroll Services Units were advised by COA to immediately effect deductions of absences upon incurrence from both the elementary and high schools and to give priority in effecting deductions of the prior years to remedy the accumulation of balance of overpayment of salaries.

But in the event that the net pay of the concerned teacher is already insufficient, the school officials should require them to refund the overpayment directly to the cashier.

COA also found out that in DepEd Region-7 cash advances were granted to accountable officers, who are not bonded or with insufficient bonds, while cash advances and liquidations amounting to P32.5 million were not supported with complete necessary documents.

Meanwhile, COA also discovered that the DepEd officials in Central Visayas spent P61,350 to pay their own personnel during DepEd-initiated seminars even if, COA said, such is no longer necessary thus considered highly irregular.

COA cited a budget circular No. 2007-1 dated April 27, 2007 which provides that “Agency personnel who are in-charge of the conduct of trainings and similar programs or activities by virtue of their positions in the sponsoring agency are not entitled to honoraria when they act as lecturer, resources person, coordinator or facilitator in in-house trainings and similar activities.”

Those who were granted such honoraria, which is reportedly without basis, were advised to refund the amount that they have received.

But the DepEd officials argued that an extra duty allowance is a form of incentive given for rendering technical assistance, consultancy services to, or acting as resource speakers, lecturers, facilitators and other similar services in seminars within or outside the agency.

COA has rejected the arguments of the DepEd officials that the concerned teachers exerted their extra effort, time and expertise and that some of the services rendered over and above the duties and responsibilities of the recipients in order to meet the desired goals and objective of the activity. — Rene U. Borromeo/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)