MANILA, Philippines – The government’s central mapping agency not only forfeited a potential income of P1.6 million for failing to produce saleable maps in 2010. It also incurred telephone bills running to P.5 million.
The Commission on Audit reported that as of December 2010 the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria) sold some P8.4 million worth of maps, posting an income of P695,050.
Despite this, Namria failed to produce the saleable topographic, contoured, regional and provincial maps and realize P1,614,900 in sales, COA said in its 2011 audit report on Namria for 2010.
This was contrary to Executive Order No. 192, which mandated Namria to provide the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with map making services and to act as a central mapping agency, it said.
The reasons were that the old imported machine was “out of order’’; the new machine was unable to print the maps because of differences in width and size of the plates; print negatives of some maps were unavailable; and lack of map papers suited for the different classes of maps.
“We recommended that management take appropriate immediate action to solve the problem of the non-production of the most requested and saleable maps so that requisitions could be served to ultimately realize and increase the income from the sale of maps,’’ the auditors said.
COA observed that Namria’s sales have been declining from P9.7 million in 2007 to P9.2 million in 2008 to P7.7 million in 2009 before slightly climbing to P8.4 million in 2010.
The commission also said that the Namria failed to collect personal long distance calls of its personnel running to P562,367.39 from previous years to 2010.
Worse, the telephone bills were “erroneously recorded’’ as advances to officers and employees, contrary to COA rules, it said.
Of the total bill, Namria has collectibles of P276,609.59 from active employees, and the balance of P285,757.80 from former employees, according to the COA report.
The auditors recommended that Namria immediately collect from those in active service, and locate resigned, terminated or on-leave personnel so they could settle their accounts.
COA also observed Namria’s failure to enter payments to contractors amounting to P1.019 million in the proper account; erroneous recording of raw materials and office supplies of P7.5 million; overstatement of reported inventory accounts by P26 million due to non-preparation of a report on materials and supplies, among others.
Namria is headed by an administrator. Its policy-making body is a Board of Governors chaired by the environment secretary and composed of four other Cabinet secretaries as members.