MANILA, Philippines — The Nayong Pilipino Foundation, attached agency of the Department of Tourism, earned a “qualified opinion,” from the Commission on Audit for its financial report for the fiscal year of 2021.
This was indicated in the annual audit report dated May 31, 2022.
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“We rendered a qualified opinion on the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements of the NPF for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020,” it said.
COA cited the faithful representation in the financial statements of the Property. Plant and Equipment (PPE) account as well as the financial statements of the Financial Liabilities, Trust Liabilities and Other Payables accounts, among others.
The qualified opinion rating is the highest the foundation obtained since 2016.
The foundation improved its performance through strategic interventions, full implementation and compliance with the state auditors’ recommendations after the agency received a “Disclaimer of Audit Opinion” in the past year under the help of the newly-installed Executive Director Gertie Duran-Batocabe.
NPF also addressed fiscal challenged and tried to close the gap in budget utilization. It increased the obligation rate from 56.86% in 2020 to 90% in 2021.
Duran-Batocabe attributed the rating garnered by the foundation to the efforts of her employees.
“This honor is yours,” she said in a speech during the agency’s Strategic Planning Workshop at the Rizal Park Hotel in Manila.
Duran-Batocabe also acknowledged her mentors, Guiller Asido and Atty. Vincent Cañares of the Intramuros Administration, DOT Undersecretary Edwin Enrile, and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
“I am thankful for the guidance they have given me in steering this agency to greater opportunities and assistance every step of the way,” she said.
"There is still much to be done, but to quote our honorable Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat 'we hope to leave it better',” she added.
NPF has been supportive of the national government’s COVID-19 response pursuant to its mandate to promote the Filipino identity and cultural heritage.
To give aid to the pandemic response, it opened its doors to host the 2-hectare Inter-Agency Task Force quarantine facility in June 2020. It also opened a mega vaccination site the following year.
Aside from the COVID-19 response, NPF also crafted a Conceptual Master Plan that shall serve as a compendium of site information and planning tools that can be used for the development of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation Cultural Parks and Creative Hub.
It also spearheaded projects such as the Museo ng Nayong Pilipino - Virtual Museum Project, a quarterly digital exhibition showcasing the various ethnographic categories in the NPF Collection and hosted Research Summit in 2021, among others.