City told to halt honorarium for BIR, Comelec workers

CEBU, Philippines - The City Government of Toledo was asked to stop paying honorarium to personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

This is after the Commission on Audit (COA) found out that the City has paid P72,000 to BIR and Comelec employees detailed at City Hall.

The payment is contrary to COA’s Compensation Policy Guidelines No. 98-1 dated March 23, 1988.  The circular specifies national government employees who are the only ones who may collect additional compensation in the form of honoraria from local government units where they are assigned.

They are the prosecutors (provincial/city fiscals) and their assistants of the Department of Justice; judges of Regional Trial Courts (RTCs)/Municipal Trial Courts/Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCCs)/Municipal Trial Courts of the Supreme Court; and RTC and MTCC clerks of court.

Fire station commanders of the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP); police station commanders of the Philippine National Police; municipal government operations officer of the Department of Interior and Local Government; and public school teachers.

Review of documents submitted by the City to COA revealed that P72,000 was paid as honoraria to national government agency personnel assigned in the city who are not among those enumerated in the circular.

In particular, the City paid P4,000 and P2,000 as monthly honorarium to personnel of Comelec and BIR, respectively, in 2012.

Reference was also made on Budget Circular No. 2007-2, which provides the guidelines on the granting of honoraria due to assignment in government special projects.

“Assignment of the personnel of Comelec and BIR in the City of Toledo cannot be considered as special project, as defined in the circular,” COA said.

A special project is defined as a duly-authorized inter-office or intra-office undertaking of a composite group of government officials and employees that is not part of the regular and permanent functions of their respective agencies.

Such undertaking may be locally-funded or foreign-assisted, is reform oriented or developmental in nature, and is contributory to the improvement of service delivery and enhancement of the performance of the core functions of an agency or member agencies.  /RHM (FREEMAN)