City vehicles used for unofficial business

CEBU, Philippines - Weeks after Cebu City Hall officials announced that they are running out of fuel supply, the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed in its annual audit report that some vehicles owned by the city and barangays are being used for unofficial business.

State auditors examined the trip tickets of some of the vehicles and found out that these were being used in going to beach parties, reunions, outings, pilgrimages and religious activities by private persons and by city and barangay officials themselves.

 The state auditors also questioned why the fuel consumptions reflected in the trip tickets varied substantially for the same type of vehicle even if the distances traveled were more or less the same.

City Auditor Eva Cabrera explained that government vehicles should be used strictly and exclusively for official business and the use of vehicles for social functions is absolutely prohibited.

The law is very strict that the use of government vehicles even by the spouses, children, relatives and friends of the officials is not allowed.

The city is giving at least 300 liters of fuel a month to vehicles issued to the barangays.

State audit procedures provide that the use of government vehicles should be controlled through properly accomplished and approved driver’s trip tickets, which should be serially numbered, a summary of which shall be made at the end of the month for audit purposes.

COA has recommended that the city will review its policy of providing fuel to government vehicles, especially for those vehicles issued to the barangays and if necessary, to require the private persons that will use the government vehicles to pay a reasonable cost of the fuel and for the wear and tear of the vehicle.

The state auditors also pointed out that the registration of the 77 vehicles purchased by the city that were initially registered in Mindanao from 2009 and 2010 continue to be a problem because its records could not be found in the computer data base of the Land Transportation Office.

These vehicles including buses that were donated to all mountain barangays of the south district are not renewed until now.

LTO computation showed that the city needs to pay P249,655 as of December 2011 for the late renewal.

Of the 77 vehicles, 26 are service vehicles, 31 are heavy equipment while 20 are buses.

“The fact that these vehicles were still used by the city despite the lapse of their registration exposed the city government to another risk in case of vehicular accidents or apprehensions,” COA said.

According to COA that the city government should ask the vehicle supplier who was responsible for the initial registration of the vehicles in Mindanao to work out the inclusion of the registration in the LTO’s data base.     - THE FREEMAN