Charging workers’ salaries to calamity fund is ‘irregular’

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Audit has questioned what it called as irregular disbursement of public funds Cebu City Hall’s release of P12.4 million from the calamity fund to pay for the salaries of several job order employees.

The law provides that local government units allocate an amount of not less than five percent of  the estimated revenue from regular sources for the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (LDRRM) Fund.

Section 21 of Republic Act 10121 also provides that the calamity fund shall be used only for disaster risk management activities, support to other affected LGUs, and quick response and standby fund for relief and recovery programs.

But when the state auditors reviewed some of Cebu City’s financial transactions, they learned that hundreds of job order employees assigned in several departments of City Hall were paid out of the calamity budget.

The records show that of the P202 million calamity fund, P39.1 million was expended from January to December 2013, with P12.4 million were used to pay for the salaries of job order workers.

“The utilization of the subject funds for payment of the salaries of job order workers was irregular since it was outside the purpose which the five percent calamity fund was intended. Moreso, these charges are not among those contemplated to be part of the disaster risk management activities enumerated in the Memorandum Circular,” COA said.

In an interview, Mayor Michael Rama explained that while the job order workers were hired under the Office of the Mayor, they were assigned at departments doing disaster-related activities to prevent calamities.

Some of the job order workers, he said, were assigned to the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement (PROBE), Local Disaster Risk-Reduction and Management Office command center, City Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET), Bantay Dagat, and others.

“We would like to stress further that calamities may either be natural or man-made. Hence, our pre-disaster preparations in hiring these job order employees are likewise intended to address the dangers of man-made calamities,”  one city official said.

COA recommended that LDRRM officials submit monthly reports on the sources and utilization of the calamity fund to facilitate review and monitoring of disbursements.  (FREEMAN)