COA to cops: Return P.3-M IA honoraria

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) is demanding the refund of P384,000 in honoraria given to Manila policemen assigned to Intramuros last year.

State auditors, in a 2014 report released Friday, said the cash incentives to the police community precinct (PCP) commander and his men were without legal basis.

The COA report said the source of the money, the revolving fund of the Intramuros Administration (IA), is questionable and is being disallowed in audit.

Financial records show that for 2014, PCP personnel received P2,000 per month while the precinct commander received P4,000.

The COA report said the law on the revolving fund states that it can be used to cover expenses incurred in the agency’s commercial operations.

State auditors said the police officers are not entitled to the honoraria since being detailed in Intramuros “does not entail additional duties” and they cannot be considered part of a special project “since the maintenance of peace and order is part of their regular functions.”

They said the IA agreed to stop paying honoraria and vowed to direct the accountant to ensure that the agency’s revolving fund shall be used strictly for operational expenses.

The IA is an agency tasked by law to restore and develop Intramuros as a monument to the Hispanic period of the Philippine history and ensure that the general appearance of Intramuros conforms to the Philippine-Spanish architecture of the 16th to the 19th century.