COA finds discrepancies in Camarines Sur fund report

The Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the accuracy of the reported income of P27 million of the provincial government of Camarines Sur from nearly five months of shooting by foreigners at Gota and Hunungan Resorts in the province for the popular TV series “Survivor” in 2011.

Also, the COA said more than half of earnings from the second Summit CamSur Marathon held in Caramoan have not been remitted to the provincial coffers. Both events had been hosted by Gov. Luis “LRay” Villafuerte Jr.

“The accuracy and correctness of the recorded income… are unreliable and doubtful due to the failure of the province to submit complete documents,” the 2011 COA report said.

It questioned the provincial government’s failure to submit documents to support its claim that only P27 million had been paid by producers of two international versions of the “Survivor” series.

The COA said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by Villafuerte and Philippine Film Studios Inc. (PFSI) for the use of two shooting sites starting on March 14, 2011.

The MOA required an initial payment of 20 percent of the contract price, P12.1 million, but only P1.5 million was paid. At the MOA signing, P924,000 was still unpaid.

Receipts, however, showed that those who paid were Strix Production and Miditech PFSI of India, who were not party to the contract signed by Villafuerte.

It turned out that Strix, producer of the “Survivor” series in Holland, Denmark and Norway, used the Caramoan sites from April 19 to July 7, 2011 while Miditech was there from June 29 to Sept. 28, 2011.

“The obligation of the contracting party was assumed by two foreign groups who were total strangers to the contract,” the COA report said.

“There was likewise no way of determining if these occupants settled their obligations in full or the amount collected was correct, after all,”  the COA said.

The COA required all documents on the “Survivor” deal be submitted by Villafuerte.

On the Summit CamSur Marathon, the report said there was a discrepancy of P4.6 million between the amount that the provincial government reported collecting and the amount that was actually received in the form of registration fees.

The COA demanded an investigation where the missing collection went and that charges be filed. The marathon was held in September 2011 and touted to be the biggest in the Philippines.