A CONGRESSMAN from Agusan del Norte is seeking a ban on honoraria or additional allowances for officials and personnel of the Commission on Audit (COA) assigned to local governments and other government offices.
“We should preserve the independence, morality and integrity of the Commission on Audit and assure the people there are concrete safeguards in the government spending of public funds,” said Agusan de Norte 2nd District Rep. Erlpe John Amante as he authored House Bill no. 5352 or the proposed “Anti-Patronage in State Auditing Act of 2015.”
HB 5352 is entitled “An Act prohibiting government entities including government-owned or controlled corporations and the local government units, to allocate funds for the additional compensation, allowances, honoraria, bonuses or other emoluments to the officials and personnel of the Commission on Audit (COA) stationed or assigned in their respective offices thereby strengthening the independence, morality and integrity of the Commission on Audit and for other purposes.”
Amante said that although Section 18 of RA 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 provides for this prohibition, the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991 created confusion whether the provision of LGC particularly authorizing the LGUs, subject to the condition that if their local finances allow, automatically and impliedly repeal the provision of R.A. 6758 on the prohibition on the COA officials and personnel to receive additional compensation from the LGUs.
In his explanatory note, Amante cited the case of Villarama vs. COA, GR No. 145383-84 dated Aug. 6, 2003 when the Supreme Court decided that the apparent inconsistency with the two laws should be reconciled, by regarding the prohibition stated in RA 6758 as an exception or limitation to the authority of local legislative bodies under RA 7160.
“Although there are existing rulings of the High Court and memorandum orders from the COA regarding this matter, there are still LGUs and resident COA auditors who are continuing this practice,” he said.
In fact, Amante added, there are still resident auditors who present and defend their annual allocations from the local governments before the Sandiganbayan for the inclusion in the annual local budgets.
“With this scenario, we can never discount and remove in the minds of our people that there are possibilities that they may be influenced by their benefactor LGU,” he said.
HB 5352 provides that any official or personnel of the COA found violating this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished with imprisonment of six months and one day to 12 years, perpetual disqualification from public office, and shall refund all those previously received additional compensation, allowances, honoraria, bonuses and other emoluments.
Likewise, any officer of the government entities including GOCCs and LGUs who caused the release of said funds shall be punished with imprisonment of six months and one day to 12 years and perpetual disqualification from public office. -pna
