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Saturday, June 18, 2005
Audit on 'missing' P205M: DepEd, bank files don't tally
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
CEBU CITY -- State auditors found P205 million in "unreconciled cash balances" in the Department of Education (DepEd) 7's bank records and local accounts, the Commission on Audit's (COA) 2004 report said.
The "unreconciled difference" could not be traced because some bank statements were delayed and others were lacking. This, said COA, cast "doubt on the validity and correctness" of the cash in bank and the local current currency account (LCCA).
The amount represents salaries and wages of personnel, some of whom have retired, in the DepEd 7 office and the Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor divisions.
DepEd 7 officials assured they are now reconciling their records to correct possible overpayments. They said these were caused by changes in payroll release, from a centralized system to a regionalized one last year.
Auditors also found a disparity of P42 million in cash in bank accounts-also resulting from "inefficient updating of payrolls"-and an overpayment of personnel benefits by about P578,000 due to the failure to follow a DepEd order.
Some teachers also failed to liquidate cash advances worth P11.6 million.
Demand letters
However, DepEd 7 Director Carolino Mordeno said most of the unliquidated funds went to the repair and maintenance of school buildings.
The new principals are not yet familiar with the liquidation of funds and failed to heed the procedure before the end of 2004, he said.
DepEd 7 budget officer Floro Aclan showed Sun.Star Cebu a breakdown of the amount, which includes:
* P8.6 million from Bohol;
* P1.68 million from Cebu City;
* P546,457 from Lapu-Lapu City;
* P545,391 from Mandaue City; and
* P223,925 from Cebu Province.
COA recommended that the officers and employees concerned immediately settle their cash advances. Otherwise, their salaries and benefits will be withheld.
Only school officials in the cities of Mandaue and Cebu have liquidated the amounts, although partially.
According to the Cebu Schools Division, some of the employees who have failed to liquidate the amounts released to them are no longer connected with the division. They will be sent demand letters.
Adjustments
School officials of Lapu-Lapu City division and the Bohol Schools Division, for their part, said they have so far informed the employees concerned.
As for the unreconciled differences in bank accounts and LCCA, DepEd 7 budget officer Dionie Sanchez said the problems began when the government decided last year to stop the centralized release of salaries to DepEd personnel and decided to adopt a regionalized payroll system.
The regionalization, however, was not implemented fully last year.
Some payroll releases were even done directly to some school divisions, which were considered pilot areas, that the DepEd 7 office totally lost track of the amounts released, she added.
"We are still reconciling our records until now," Sanchez revealed.
Aside from the delayed preparation of bank statements, delayed receipt of reports on checks issued and the summary of deductions, personnel offices also failed to provide the list of cancelled checks and the summary of cancelled deductions on time.
Changes
There is also no field data in the payroll system on the retirement date of employees and those who were on leave without pay.
However, COA noted the "deficiencies" in the centralized payroll system and required the personnel offices to give accounting offices the required reports on time, for proper recording and adjustments of expenses and cash accounts.
State auditors also required accountants to prepare necessary journal entries to adjust the affected accounts. They need to set up a receivables account to collect from employees affected by the overpayments.
Mordeno assured that with the full regionalization of the payroll system, such problems will be eliminated this year.
Sanchez said this is possible since they now prepare checks a month ahead, instead of preparing it three months earlier under the centralized system.
Reports on employees who retire and deductions are now more updated, she added.
No refund
COA noted that of the six Region 7 schools that granted excessive loyalty pay, only Abellana National High School (ANS) teachers are not willing to refund the amounts released to them.
ANS administrative officer Danny Tapait said they are asking COA for a reconsideration.
They based their move on Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular 6, released in 2002, which provided the payment of loyalty pay of P500 to P1,000.
They released P526,500 in loyalty pay, instead of only P208,500.
DepEd Order 55, released in 2003, provides for the payment of only P500, from the old rate of P300.
Schools like Toledo National Vocational School, Badian National High School (NHS), Bitoon NHS, Marigondon NHS and Buanoy NHS were found to have overpaid their personnel by P578,000.
Tapait said they are willing to refund the P318,000, which represents their payment of the P1,000 loyalty pay to each employee, if the COA rejects their appeal. Loyalty pay went to employees who have served with the same agency for 10 years. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex) |
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