Accounting to prioritize barangay utility payments

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Accountant Marietta Gumia yesterday said the processing of vouchers for the payment of utilities like electricity, water and vehicles in the barangays will be prioritized in her department in order to avoid surcharges and penalties.

This as the Visayan Electric Company has already started imposing surcharges on barangays with unpaid bills or those that fail to pay their bills within the nine-day grace period.

Gumia said the barangays already aware of the standing memorandum from the Commission on Audit that prohibits the government from paying surcharges on the ground that the government should not be held responsible for the delay in the transaction.

The COA said the surcharges will be the liability of the person responsible for the delay, in this case the barangay treasurer.

“Dili gyud sila maka-ingon nga wala sila kahibalo. The payments of utilities are priorities in her department aron dili lang gyud ma-delay ug wala’y penalties,” Gumia said.

In the case of Barangay Guadalupe, they have to pay surcharge for their bill for March. The surcharge for barangay Guadalupe amounted to over P2,000 for two months of power consumption costing a total of P113,991.44.

Gumia said barangay will have to find another fund source to pay it, but definitely, they cannot use government funds.

All transactions of the barangays undergo pre-audit at the city accounting as a way to ensure that barangays are spending wisely and within the bounds of the law. It is the barangay that prepares the voucher and the check which they then submit to the accounting office for pre-audit. If all requirements are met, the city accountant signs and issues the Bank’s Advice which is required by the bank to release the checks.

Association of Barangay Councils president and ex-officio Michael Ralota, who is the barangay captain of T. Padilla, said that it is the liability of a barangay or a barangay treasurer to shoulder the surcharges of the payment.

The observation of Ralota was also supported by Cogon-Ramos Barangay Captain Omar Durano and Parian Barangay Captain Jeremias Nuñez.Durano said they will let their barangay treasurer pay the surcharges from his own pocket while Nuñez said that barangay officials will have to shoulder the payment to avoid disconnection.

“Mao nga amo gyud pabayaron ang among treasurer kung ma-late og bayad kay kahibalo man gyud na sila kung unsa’y mga bayranan,” Durano said. (FREEMAN)