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Thursday, September 23, 2004
8 treasury officials ‘liable’
By Gingging A. Campaña
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CEBU City Hall lawyers surprised the entire treasury office yesterday when they cleared the two direct superiors of collector Rebecca Mahusay for her lapses and disappearance, but opted to file charges against eight other officials.
Butch Donabel Ragas-Bilocura and Andrew Y. Cavada cleared Monina Paires, acting License and Fees Division chief, and Zosima Sebes, acting assistant License and fees division chief, of any liability.
The lawyers, however, found prima facie evidence to file administrative charges for negligence and misconduct against the eight.
Recommended administratively charged were Esterlita Garrido, acting Cash Receipts Division chief; Joseph Reyes, assistant Cash Receipts Division chief; Sylvia Jakosalem, Cash Disbursement Division chief; Agapita Cesa, acting administrative officer; Evangeline Flores, leave in-charge; and liquidating officers Anya D. Chan, Rachel Martinez and Norma Labra.
In a fact-finding inquiry last August, all 10 officials claimed honesty, good faith and diligence in the performance of their official duties and functions.
But Paires and Sebes were cleared because “it neither appeared that they exercise supervision over the rest of the employees, nor were they remiss in the exercise of diligence, which would have prevented the unfortunate incidents from happening.”
“Their defense of honesty, good faith and due diligence in the performance of official functions are evidentiary in nature. The same can be properly threshed out during the formal investigation of the case,” the lawyers said.
The eight officials, on the other hand, failed to adhere to the standards of the accountability and responsibility of government employees as enshrined by the Constitution, said Bilocura and Cavada, in a final evaluation report dated Sept. 8.
Results of the evaluation were signed and recommended by Acting City Attorney Evangeline Abatayo and approved by Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
The respondents received the report yesterday.
Mahusay, who remains in hiding, earlier took a two-month leave of absence without clearance of her accountabilities of nearly P190,000 in miscellaneous fees.
The lawyers said “a closer analysis and evaluation on the disturbing incident about Mahusay revealed that there are two major incidents that led to her success in absconding some P187,707.95 in collections and accountable documents.”
Flores, Cesa and Jakoselem approved Mahusay’s sick leave for more than two months without clearance that she has settled all her accountabilities and without taking into consideration that she was a collector.
Garrido, Chan, Labra, Martinez and Reyes “seriously failed to control, monitor, check and verify the issued and unused official receipts released to collectors and all other accountable forms.”
These lapses were glaring non-compliance to procedures set by Commission on Audit (COA) circular 92-382.
Collectors should turn over all collections intact for the day to the treasurer or cashier at the close of business hours. This should be done together with the accomplished daily statement collections accountable form, official receipts and other accountable documents.
In separate interviews, Garrido and Cesa said they will seek explanation why Paires and Sebes were excluded in the recommendation.
“I wonder if the lawyers really received and went over our answers to the memorandum. I wonder why they (Paires and Sebes) were not included,” Cesa told Sun.Star last night.
For her part, Garrido said she will let her lawyer study the report.
Sun.Star tried but failed to contact Reyes, Labra, Martinez and Chan.
Chan is a daughter of City Secretary Ester delos Reyes.
Delos Reyes refused to give Chan’s contact number but said she will advise Chan not to issue statements to the media until she gets a lawyer.
The City Attorney’s Office called all 10 officials, including Acting Treasurer Tessie Camarillo, to a preliminary fact-finding inquiry last Aug. 31.
Investigations revealed that all collectors were to be checked and accounted by their assigned liquidating officers only the next working day.
Though this violated existing COA circulars, this has been the practice of liquidating officers “for convenience and for lack of manpower.”
“Thus, it has been admitted that it is possible that collectors would bring home their collections, the official receipts and other documents,” the lawyers said.
Mahusay is facing an administrative and criminal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly running away with the money.
She has failed to account for 98 official receipts and has failed to show up after she took a sick leave from May 26 to July 31.
Even her family had refused to cooperate with the City Government in finding her, claiming that Mahusay has already left for New Zealand.
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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