By Churchill Aguilar IT seems like a normal thing for elected politicians nowadays to finish their terms with enormous un-liquidated cash advances some even amounting to millions. Public office is a public trust so the law should be more stringent on giving sanctions to officials who cannot account for their spending within the grace period they are supposed to liquidate. The laxity of implementing sanctions to politicians who could not liquidate their cash advances results to a culture of withdrawing huge cash advances when election is nearing – a very suspicious timing. And when the politician losses on the election, it would be harder for COA to run after those officials and filing cases would drag for as long as God knows when. I know for a fact that a certain ex-municipal mayor who was unseated six years ago still has a huge unliquidated cash advances and for some reason he enjoys his retirement like he’s got no more accountability to the local treasury. Incumbent officials are not also keen in running after ex officials knowing that they too may be committing the very same acts. I mean where is the 30-day rule of liquidating government expenditures? After 30 days there is no more rule? What escalates the injustice is that since elected officials are only allowed cash advances for their travelling expenses, they would use permanently appointed employees as disbursing officers. These employees are left with the accountability of liquidating such amounts that everyone knows they have not even touched. Sincere and clean politicians are not afraid of liquidations. They in fact like the system because it can show how they spent people’s money properly and in turn they won’t get wrongfully accused of corruption. To put teeth on the law in so far as liquidation is concern, politicians should at least be disqualified from filing certificate of candidacy if they have standing unliquidated cash advances. This is a good way to avoid the possibility of government money to be used during election campaigns and in a way rid the system of trapos. For a more immediate action, this election season is the best time for COA to run after politicians with unliquidated accounts to force them to settle their cash advances as well as to inform the public who among those we have elected and are electing did not comply on the accountability law of their government expenditures. It is high time for our politicians to realize that it is not their right to spend our money, rather we entrust our money to them so that they can strategically spend it to improve our lives. It is after all our money––a cut from our monthly salaries. The extra money we pay every time we buy goods. It cannot be overstressed that the money they are spending is our money, not theirs.