COA quizzes Camarines Sur execs on ‘Survivor’ income

MANILA, Philippines - Doubting the province’s claim that it earned P27 million in 2011 for the filming of the reality television series “Survivor,” the Commission on Audit (COA) said officials of Camarines Sur should submit complete documents that could establish the correctness and reliability of such an income.   

In a report released only recently, state auditors scored the provincial government for providing no details as to how the beach resorts of Gota and Hunungan in Caramoan actually generated such an amount.

Since 2007, Camarines Sur, headed by Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, has been the venue of “Survivor.” Records show that in 2011, another group of foreign “Survivor” contestants occupied the hotels and villages in Gota and Hunungan in Caramoan.

An undated memorandum of agreement (MOA), according to state auditors, was entered into by the provincial government and Philippine Film Studios Inc. covering a contract from March 14, 2011 to June 13, 2011.

The COA report noted that upon verification of records of collection, state auditors noted that based on official receipts, the payment for the use of Gota village and Hunungan resort was made not by Philippine Film Studios Inc. but rather Strix and Miditech PFSI.

As can be gleaned from this, the auditors said the “obligation of the contracting party, Philippine Film Studios Inc., was assumed by two foreign groups who were total strangers to the contract. There was no single provision in the MOA that would refer to these two foreign groups.” 

State auditors noted that the “only documents” submitted to them after repeated demands were the “MOA herein referred to and the official receipts issued to acknowledge payment made by them.”

“Due to the absence of any agreement as to the exact number of days of stay or extension, even the period shown in the official receipts that the foreign groups stayed from April 1 to Aug. 14, 2011 could not be relied upon, as the period of stay can be longer or shorter. It can never be said that the collected income was correct or accurate, as there is no document that could vouch for its accuracy,” the audit team said.

Citing accounting records, the COA said the amount collected from Strix Production for the cost of accommodation and food for two and a half months amounted to P16,367,662.50 while that of Miditech for the two-month stay in the village was P11,152,266, for a total of P27,519,928.50.

In defense, Villafuerte told COA that the MOA was clear that while only the actual rooms used will be billed by the province and paid by Philippine Film Studios Inc., the province demanded and got a guaranteed minimum payment of P12,123,000, equivalent to 4,455 room days, which would be paid as the minimum amount due, even if actual usage might be less than 4,455 room days for the exclusivity clause in the agreement.