Palace: COA report on excessive phone bills incomplete

MANILA, Philippines - Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) described as incomplete the Commission on Audit (COA) report that his office incurred excessive mobile phone expenses – ironically for only a single month in 2012.

“The basis for the (phone) expenses was merely from May to June 2012, or expenses for just one month. We have to check the data on the other months and the whole fiscal year of 2012,” Coloma said in a text message yesterday.

Coloma said PCOO personnel – who are under the Office of the President – have been performing their jobs to the best of their capacities despite “budgetary constraints.”

“We answered the COA observation and they have not asked us on that issue again since then,” he said. 

State auditors have alleged that Coloma had been lax in his implementation of Office Order 013 Series of 2011, which provided the guidelines in the issuance and use of government-issued mobile phones.

The COA report said such failure resulted in the excessive mobile phone expenses in the amount of P116,942.

“We audited the mobile telephone expenses from May 29 to June 28, 2012 which disclosed that the amount of P273,628.90 was disbursed for payment of mobile telephone bills,” the audit team noted.

“Of this amount, P116,942 refers to the usage of officials and employees in excess of their allocated amount as provided for in Office Order No. 013 series of 2011,” the team added.

COA auditors also noted that based on the office order, any amount exceeding the ceiling provided to officials and employees shall be charged against the user through salary deduction.

Last month, the COA also reported that the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) spent over P1.36 million in mobile phone expenses last year.

Because of Internet downloads, “share-a-load” and other expenses, the PCDSPO headed by Secretary Ricky Carandang exceeded its budget by P208,989.40.

Both the PCOO and the PCDSPO are offices that operate under the Presidential Communications Group of the Office of the President.