Thursday, July 31, 2008 COA disallows P200T for Pinamungajan fiesta
THE Pinamungajan Municipal Government spent more than P200,000 for “religious” activities last year, state auditors said.
But the disbursement was a clear violation of the provision in the Local Government Code of 1991, Commission on Audit (COA) said in its annual report released yesterday.
The municipal accountant told state auditors that the items were “inadvertently overlooked” before they closed the 2007 books of accounts.
The expenses incurred were for payment of tokens to judges, sound and light rental services, stage decoration, among others.
But auditors also found that the Municipal Government disbursed P67,358 for the town’s annual fiesta last year.
“As can be gleaned from the above series of expenditures, it could be readily concluded that it boils down to one common denominator, that it partakes the nature of
religious activities,” state auditors said in their 2007 annual report.
COA urged concerned municipal officials to stringently adhere to the law to prevent the misuse of government funds for religious purposes.
Likewise, the state auditors also criticized the local government for its failure to record financial accounts, which resulted in overstatement of cash in bank worth more
than P2 million.
The amount represents a deduction from payment for a bank loan for the purchase of heavy equipment. (GMD)
