TRC execs, workers pampered with illegal bonuses, perks ­– COA

MANILA, Philippines - The Technology Resource Center (TRC), a controversial government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) that will soon be abolished because of its alleged involvement in the pork barrel fund scam, pampered its officials and employees last year with bonuses and other financial perks without legal basis.

In a 2014 report released recently, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the payment of fringe benefits and other personnel allowances totaling P20.47 million should stop, citing Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, which provides the fundamental principle in government that says “no money shall be paid out of any public treasury or depository except in pursuance of an appropriation law or other specific statutory authority.”

The audit team stressed that “government funds or property shall be spent or used solely for public purposes.”

In 2014, the TRC gave its officials and employees omnibus allowances amounting to P15.766 million; economic incentives totaling P4.664 million; and mid-year bonus differentials amounting to P39,462.

The auditors noted that a “review of the approval of the Corporate Operating Budget of TRC for CY 2014 by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) disclosed that the latter disallowed, among others, the Miscellaneous Services (Employees Welfare and Development) under the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE); hence, payment of said personnel benefits had no legal basis.

“Despite repetitive issuance of Notices of Disallowance and audit recommendations to refund and stop the grant of 40 percent Omnibus Allowance and Economic Incentives for lack of legal basis, the management continued paying the same,” the audit team reported.

The TRC, it added, should first obtain approval from the DBM or the Office of the President before it could continue giving the benefits.

In response, the TRC’s Legal Services Division said “TRC has its legal basis for giving the said benefits and it stands for its cause” and that the agency is willing to bring the issue all the way to the Supreme Court.

“TRC strongly believes that the audit observation/recommendation is a pure question of law which must be resolved, no less, by the Supreme Court,” the TRC told COA.

The TRC is one of three GOCCs whose name has been dragged into the pork barrel fund scam and whose officials have been charged before the Sandiganbayan and dismissed after being found guilty of administrative offenses.

The abolition of TRC was approved by the executive secretary through a Memorandum to the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) issued on Aug. 8, 2014.