Robredo's office: All cash advances liquidated, measures in place to prevent delays

MANILA, Philippines — All cash advances mentioned in a 2017 Commission on Audit report have been fully liquidated, and measures have been put in place to prevent delays in liquidation, the Office of the Vice President said on Friday.

The Commission on Audit called the attention of the OVP over delays in reimbursements of cash advances and liquidation of travel expenses of some of its staff in its 2017 report.

According to Undersecretary Boyet Dy of the OVP, their office has already addressed the delays and instituted clearer guidelines on the handling of cash advances and witholding of compensation for accountable staff.

"[T]he OVP has instituted stricter measures to prevent similar delays. These include clearer guidelines on the handling of cash advances and the withholding of compensation for accountable staff subject to the full liquidation of advances, consistent with COA's own recommendations," he said in a statement.

In a letter dated March 19, 2019 by OVP Assistant Chief of Staff Sofia Yanto-Abad, Vice President Leni Robredo's office said explained that the delays were due to unclear documentary requirements, lack of employee orientation and frequency of travels of the concerned employees.

Abad's letter to COA's Supervising Auditor Edna Salaguban was in response to the Audit Observation Memorandum 2018-001 on cash advance for travel and corresponding travel expenses dated Feb. 27, 2018.

To address the gaps in their system, Abad said that they now required traveling employees or designated persons in charge of the scheduled trips to accomplish liquidation forms within five days for local travels and within 10 days for international.

The OVP also reiterated the timelines for cash advance liquidation, she said, adding that failure to follow them could result in the withholding of salaries of concerned staff.

These would then be submitted to the OVP's Accounting Division together with the required documents, she said.

The OVP also provided its employees with a checklist of requirements for the liquidation of cash advances which should be submitted within five days for local travel and 10 days for international trips.

Abad said that the Administrative and Financial Services Office of the OVP had been authorized to withold the the release of salaries, benefits and other claims of employees who failed to complay with travel related rules and regulations.

She said that these measures had resulted in improvements in the liquidation process in the OVP.

"Moreover, the corresponding refunds of the excess cash advances have been returned on the same date as the Liquidation Reports," she said.

She also stressed the commitment of the OVP to strengthen its internal control system especially on the grant and liquidation of cash advances.