NUEVA’S STALLS. A car stops in front of food stalls that encroach on the sidewalk and extend to a portion of a capitol road. A Commission on Audit document shows the capitol has been shouldering the electric and water bills of the stalls being leased from the provincial government by a mysterious woman named Rhea Ritzie P. Nueva. Until now, capitol officials could not say who Nueva is. (photo by Nitz Arancon)
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By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent

THE capitol has been paying for the electric and water bills of the stalls built by a mysterious woman who was awarded a lease contract in 2013 by Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano.

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NUEVA’S STALLS. A car stops in front of food stalls that encroach on the sidewalk and extend to a portion of a capitol road. A Commission on Audit document shows the capitol has been shouldering the electric and water bills of the stalls being leased from the provincial government by a mysterious woman named Rhea Ritzie P. Nueva. Until now, capitol officials could not say who Nueva is. (photo by Nitz Arancon)

This was shown in pages 79 and 80 of the Commission on Audit’s 2018 annual report on the Misamis Oriental where the Commission called out the capitol over “deficiencies noted in the course of verification of the transactions…”

The audit report prepared by the audit team leader, state auditor Gina Perpetua Baul, noted that there was more than one written contract entered into by and between the capitol and Nueva, and that terms and conditions were not observed.

The terms:

• payment of monthly rent shall be on or before the 30th day of the month; and

• payment of light and water for the leased area shall be the sole responsibility of the lessee (Nueva) who shall cause to install separate meters for electricity and water.

But state auditors stated: “Provisions of the lease contracts were not strictly enforced and certain entities were allowed to use certain lot/space without rent, resulting to low collection.”

The COA found out that Nueva has been leasing two pieces of property in the capitol compound. One is the 1,029-square meter property across the Northern Mindanao Medical Center. For this property, she is supposed to pay the capitol P100 for every square meter or P102,900 a month.

Nueva’s lease agreement for the 1,029-square meter property was made on Sept. 3, 2013, just two months after Emano started serving his first office term as governor. The 2018 COA report however referred to a Sept. 3, 2016-Sept. 2, 2019 lease contract for the capitol property across the NMMC.

The same COA report shows that Nueva also holds the lease for a 180-square meter property adjacent to the regional office of the National Bureau of Investigation. For this property where Nueva is renting out stalls to sub-lessees, she is supposed to pay the capitol P18 thousand a month based on a Sept. 3, 2016-Sept. 2, 2019 contract.

State auditors noted these “deficiencies”:

• Except for three occasions, payment of rental was two to 100 days delayed.

• The lessee (Nueva) did not cause to install separate electric meters.

The auditors said Nueva had been reimbursing the provincial government of the electric consumption of the sub-lessees located near the NBI office but based on the audit team’s analysis of the promptness of reimbursement, her reimbursement came 26 to 95 days after due date of the electric bill.

The COA also said that while other lease contracts bore provisions about adjustment of rates should the Revenue Code be revised or amended, the provision was absent in the agreement entered with Nueva even though the agreement was executed ahead of the other contracts.

The audit report reads in part: “Under Republic Act No. 7160, the Provincial Governor is granted the power to maximize the generation of revenues with the Treasurer given the duty to collect the revenues. While the Revenue Ordinance and lease contracts contained provisions assuring increased and efficient collection, these provisions were not enforced for unknown reasons and/or known reasons that were not addressed.”   

The COA said that in summary, the capitol “was not able to fully increase its collection from lease and for safeguarding its resources from use by other entities.”

The state auditors took note of the capitol’s reply to the audit observation memorandum given during the exit conference. In its reply, the capitol explained that Nueva’s request to the electric and water companies for installation of light and water meters was not possible due to issues concerning the ownership of leased capitol properties. 

Auditors recommended that the provincial treasurer enforce prompt payment by Nueva of lease and water bills. They also recommended that the provincial government include in all lease contracts the provision of adopting the new rates based on the prevailing Revenue Code.

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