Thursday, August 23, 2007 Pay back P30T, COA tells Borbon town employees
THE employees and officials of the Borbon Municipal Government will have to refund the P1.74 million worth of collective negotiation agreement (CNA) incentives they received last year.
This, after the Commission on Audit (COA) found that the release of the funds was irregular as it violated Resolution 4 series of 2002 of the Public Sector Labor Management Council (PSLMC).
The resolution provides that granting of CNA incentives are only done after savings are generated from cost cutting measures, systems improvement and after the delivery of services or achievement of the target of the agency.
The same resolution provides that the savings must be apportioned as 50 percent for CNA incentives; 30 percent for improvement of the working conditions and other programs or to be added as part of the incentives and 20 percent to be reverted to the general funds of the municipality.
Permanent
State auditors found that the local government of Borbon granted CNA incentives to elected, permanent and casual employees at P30,000 across the board.
This was unlike last year when the town granted CNA incentives of P25,000 for elected and permanent employees and P20,000 to casuals holding plantilla position.
The incentive was given “as a gesture of the improved performance” of the employees.
But COA said that the CNA should not be based on the improved performance but on actual savings.
Apportioned
The municipality, COA said, “failed to submit convincing evidence” that the amount used for the incentives was actual savings from different items of appropriations as a result of the cost cutting measures.
They also failed to prove that the amount is net for incentives after the savings were apportioned based on the provisions of Resolution 4 of PSLMC.
The commission recommended that “all employees who received the CNA should refund the P30,000” and that subsequent granting of CNA incentives should be based on the PSLMC resolution.
Borbon is also among the towns found to have spent unnecessarily to entertain guests and conduct municipal activities.
COA found that it spent more than P375,000 last year for activities that were participated in by barangay officials who are entitled and have actually claimed meals and transportation allowances from their respective barangays.
Participants
The town was also found to have allegedly spent for private or religious activities, which are not considered public purpose and that names of employees who are not participants of the activities were included in the list to fill the gap between the estimate and the actual number involved in the activity or to justify the amount spent. (MBG)
