Saturday, September 22, 2007 LTO cashier: ‘I will pay’
LAND Transportation Office (LTO) 7 cashier Marissa Abear Veriña said she will report to work on Monday and promised to settle more than P2 million in accountabilities.
Veriña, LTO 7 Director Alex Leyson said, sent a message to the personnel department that her family is selling real estate properties to replace the public funds she allegedly pocketed.
Veriña’s family reportedly owns a house in Minglanilla, Cebu and land in Argao town where she comes from.
But Leyson, a lawyer, said that returning the money cannot erase the criminal and administrative offenses that Veriña committed.
Leyson said he is waiting for the report and recommendations of the audit team he created to check Veriña’s accountabilities.
The team is reviewing all the records of disbursements made by Veriña to find out how much money was lost out of the more than P2-million monthly budget for LTO 7.
Several LTO employees from Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Oriental Negros complained that they failed to encash their paychecks for August due to insufficiency of funds.
Leyson relieved Veriña last week.
Veriña went absent without an official leave since Sept. 13.
The LTO tried to locate her but she could not be found in her residence.
Leyson said the audit team will look into how Veriña withdrew the money from Land Bank, their official depository bank, when the funds are intended for salary and operating expenses such as payments for light and water.
Of the P2 million, Leyson said that Veriña is only authorized to encash checks intended for the payment of salaries to personnel assigned with the LTO regional office.
Based on procedures, the LTO can only withdraw money from Land Bank through the issuance of checks. The checks must be signed by Veriña and Gonzalo Baybay, the administrative division chief.
Veriña has been working with LTO for nine years already, starting as clerk, bookkeeper, assistant statistician and then cashier. (EOB)
