P47M fund for wounded soldiers in Marawi siege still untouched — COA

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Army has yet to utilize the P47.64 million fund intended for soldiers who were wounded-in-action (WIA) during the Marawi siege in 2017, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

In COA’s audit report released on June 29, state auditors said the Army has received donations amounting to P235 million. Of this amount, P147.2 million were allocated for personnel killed-in-action (KIA) while the remaining P1.798 million was set aside for official travel.

Aside from untouched funds worth P47.64 million, another P18.77 million allocated for soldiers killed in action were also not utilized or obligated.

Moreover, COA discovered that the financial aid granted to 118 KIA personnel exceeded the prescribed amount by P9.98 million, despite a directive from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) General Head Quarters (GHQ).

The commission said in its report that Section 4.a of the GHQ Letter Directive No. 30 provides that “each of the KIA personnel beneficiaries shall receive the amount of one million pesos only.”

The audit of the disbursement vouchers and documents showed that the financial assistance granted to 118 certified KIA beneficiaries exceeded by  as much as P9.98 million.

The Philippine Army was advised to create guidelines for the receipt, utilization, and liquidation of the Marawi funds for both WIA and KIA personnel.

This was after COA observed that P165.4 million in cash grants were also not used.

COA also demanded that the Army management require the Director of the Finance Center Philippine Army (FCPA) to justify the overpayment of the beneficiaries.

“Verification of the P165,451,600.00 out of the cash donations used so far showed that the PA [Philippine Army] had not crafted specific guidelines for the receipt and utilization and liquidation of donations, especially for those intended for the WIA PA personnel,” COA explained.

“This is a contributing factor in the slow utilization of the donations and works against its intended purpose,” it added. (Editor: Eden Estopace)

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