Capitol resumes stipend for fiscals

FOUR prosecutors assigned at the Office of the Regional State Prosecutor will now have more reasons to celebrate this holiday.

This after the Cebu Provincial Government released their monthly stipends after they complied with the documents required by state auditors to support their receipt of allowances.

Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre confirmed yesterday that Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane and his three assistants started receiving their monthly allowances from Capitol after complying with the documents.

Gubalane receives P12,500 a month from the Province while Prosecutors Graeme June Elmido, Alain Gallego, and Raul Cristoria each receive monthly stipend of P10,000.

Prosecutor Vicente Mañalac, who also used to receive P10,000 monthly, has retired from government service.

Lacking documents

The Commission on Audit (COA), in its three-page audit observation memo, earlier informed Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and other Capitol officials the release of stipends to prosecutors totaling to P630,000 last year lacked supporting documents.

State auditors said payments of the monthly allowances of the prosecutors were made without any assignment order or documents to prove their assignment to the Province.

Gubalane received P12,500 from January to December, 2011, or a total of P150,000, the auditors’ memo showed.

The four other prosecutors, meanwhile, each received a monthly stipend of P10,000 from January to December 2011, or a total of P480,000.

The prosecutors used to receive monthly stipends from the cities of Mandaue and Talisay, until state auditors suspended their allowances early this year.

In Mandaue City, the auditors deferred the release of P1.146-million to the prosecutors for lack of documents showing they actually rendered services to the City.

State auditors had also issued a notice of suspension to Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez on the allowances of the prosecutors amounting to P125,500.

The payments made, the auditors said, were not supported with an assignment order or any document to prove that claimants are assigned in Talisay City.

Provincial Treasurer Salubre, in an interview, said Capitol released the monthly allowances of the prosecutors after they fully complied with the requirements required by auditors.