Tuesday, August 05, 2008 City’s P2.25M ‘misused’ by Lapu ABC By Allan I. Varquez Sun.Star Staff Reporter
LAPU-LAPU City’s Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) “misused” a total P2.25 million in financial assistance from the City Government by spending the entire amount for activities and payment of other obligations, instead of development projects for each of the 30 barangays, state auditors said.
City Councilor Eduardo Cuizon, the former ABC President, also failed to liquidate the P265,772.03 balance from the P1.9 million the group received from the City in 2006 for their Christmas party and other priority projects.
But Cuizon and incumbent ABC President Leo Mercado argued that the expenses was reasonable and within the bounds of the association’s activities and authority.
The Commission on Audit (COA) annual report stated that the Lapu-Lapu ABC disregarded its mandatory function to give priority to programs designed for the total development of the barangays in consonance with the policies, programs and projects of the National Government, as provided in Section 495 of the Local Government
Code.
The ABC also disregarded its board resolution that sought funding for certain projects.
The bulk of the amount was spent for the honorarium of 30 barangay captains for attending their monthly meetings, amounting to P776,500.
Their Christmas party and general assembly in 2006 and 2007 also ate up P550,000 of the financial assistance, including food items and dry goods given as gifts.
“In the review of the above transactions, it is imperative that there was not a single project or program accomplished by the association with the financial assistance given by the City during the period 2006 and 2007 that was designed for the total development of various barangays of the city,” the report said.
The COA noted that the honoraria for the barangay captains ranged from P1,000 to P2,500 each.
In an interview, Mercado said that most of the expenses were incurred even before he was elected ABC president in December last year.
Still, he said, all the expenses were legitimate and formed part of the operational expenses of the association.
In 2006, the City gave P 1.9 million in financial assistance to the ABC, but Cuizon, who was the president that time, was able to liquidate only P1.65 million, leaving a balance of P240,068.
He spent P250,000 for the Christmas party, but receipts submitted for their expenses totaled only P224,256, resulting in an unliquidated balance of P25,703.
COA recommended that the ABC focus on development projects and not spend the financial assistance from the City on programs and activities.
It also asked Cuizon to liquidate the P265,772 balance.
Other huge expenses that were not supported by a board resolution were the Lakbay Aral in Camiguin Island amounting to P286,800 and the Garbo sa Lapu-Lapu Festival, which was one of the highlights of the “Kadaugan sa Mactan”. It cost the ABC P502,377.
