MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has expressed doubt over the actual accomplishments of 13 consultants hired by the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) and paid P1.969 million last year.
In a 2014 report released recently, the state auditors said the accomplishment reports submitted by the 13 do not show the quantifiable services rendered during the time they were contracted and that the claimed accomplishments cannot be properly validated.
The auditors pointed out that the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines provides that claims against government funds shall be supported with complete documentation. They also cited the COA rules prescribing guidelines and documentary requirements for common government transactions, including the documentary requirements for consulting services.
Records show that in 2014, Philracom, represented by its chairman Angel Castano, executed contracts of service with various consultants whose duties and responsibilities included veterinary works, medical consultation, legal assistance, field inspection and liaison or representation among others.
The auditors noted that, except for two lawyers, all of the consultants submitted monthly accomplishment reports attached to their disbursement vouchers.
However, the audit team said “we observed that the said accomplishment reports were the same for all the periods covered and were also not quantified and cannot be readily or properly validated.”
The COA report said only consultant Gloria Arboleda submitted her accomplishment report in a narrative form showing quantifiable accomplishments.
“Without accomplishment reports that provide clear and measurable proof of the accomplishments of the above consultants, the propriety of the payment of P1,969,450 by Philracom cannot be fully established,” the auditors stressed.
The audit team said Philracom should require the consultants to submit approved and verified accomplishment reports for all the periods they collected payment and for succeeding payments for consultancy services to strictly comply with the law.