COA hits NCCA anew on P1.79-B time deposit

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) again called the attention of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for placing more than P1.789 billion of its funds in a time deposit account.

In a 2014 report released recently, COA said keeping the money in the bank to yield interest is contrary to the rules and has resulted in “the immobilization or idleness of such huge amount instead of helping the government in maximizing the use of its scarce resources.”

The COA noted that Executive Order No. 338 issued on May 17, 1996 directed the deposit of the cash balances of all government agencies and offices to the National Treasury.

The COA also said Republic Act 7356 provides the establishment of the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) at the NCCA exclusively for Philippine art and cultural programs, projects and activities all over the country. 

The contribution to the fund consists mainly of the seed capital taken from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and the 10 percent of the travel tax collection, the share taken from the annual allotment of the travel tax given to the Philippine Tourism Authority.

According to the COA report, as of Dec. 31, 2014, the NEFCA had a balance of P1,789,877,477.02 which was placed in a time deposit called the High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) under the agency’s Cash in Bank-Local Currency, Time Deposits (LCTD) account.

The audit team said such findings were already made in 2013, but the NCCA said it has asked for exemption from the provisions of EO 338 from the secretaries of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Finance.

 Since no exemption has been issued up to now, the COA said the NCCA should follow up on its request “otherwise, it should deposit the balance to the National Treasury.”