Stop paying honoraria for night classes, BSU execs told

MANILA, Philippines - For the fourth time, the Commission on Audit (COA) has called on officials of the Batangas State University (BSU) to stop paying honoraria to its administrative officials and employees for the conduct of evening classes for working students.

Records show that from 2008 to 2011, state auditors had been consistently calling on the BSU management to discontinue the payment of honoraria for lack of legal basis.

However, BSU officials have repeatedly insisted that the payment of honoraria is justified based on a 1997 COA decision which supposedly stated that “evening and weekend classes are considered ‘special projects’ for the purposes of granting honoraria.”

In its 2011 report released only recently, COA said the school’s main campus again paid honoraria in the amount of P497,085.75 to its administrative officials and employees.

According to the state auditors, they “had been consistent in notifying the (BSU) head through AOM (audit observation memorandum) issuances that the grant had no legal basis and in recommending to discontinue the payment of the same and to refund the amount already claimed.”

The latest COA report again argued that the conduct of evening classes do not fall under the category of special projects which means that the payment of honoraria has no legal basis.

State auditors cited a Department of Budget and Management opinion dated Dec. 15, 2005 that the conduct of evening classes to cater specially to working students “are regular programs/activities of the SUC which is not within the purview of a special project such that the personnel involved thereon may be paid honoraria, chargeable against their income as the same are considered as additional workload to them over and above their regular functions at rates prescribed under NCC No. 75.”

Although the BSU president has finally agreed to suspend the payment of honoraria, he told state auditors that the school has filed its appeal on the matter before the COA regional office.