Ex-CDO mayor has P150.6M in unliquidated cash advances–COA

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Former Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano has a total of P150.6 million in unliquidated cash advances, according to a Commission on Audit report made public this week.

In a memorandum dated February 5, state auditors in Northern Mindanao Luzminda Canios and Edgardo Melendez said Emano has failed to properly account for his “confidential and intelligence expenses” from 2011 to 2013.

For 2011 and 2012 alone, Emano disbursed P83.856 million in intelligence and confidential funds.

The former mayor could not be reached for comment. But Emano’s son-in-law, Councilor President Elipe said that the release of the audit report was politically motivated meant to discredit and harass his father-in-law.

According to the state auditors, the disbursements had no credit advices from the COA chairman, which was in violation of COA Circular no. 2003-003 dated July 30, 2013.

While Emano sent COA a letter on June 24, 2012, which had liquidation vouchers and reports on cash advances amounting to P66.799 million as attachments, the state auditors said it was not in order. Because if it was, the COA chairman or his authorized representative should have issued a credit advice addressed to the local government already.

The state auditors said they also had difficulty tracing Emano’s entire expenses for the two succeeding years because other disbursements lacked documentary requirements, such as transmittal letters.

The report said the failure to furnish the audit team copies of transmittal letters could indicate that the accountable officer involved did not liquidate the cash advances.

The state auditors also quoted a bookkeeper at city hall’s accounting department as saying: “It was the practice during the past administration that once the liquidation papers are submitted to the COA chairman, the cash advances were credited in the book of accounts even without the receipt of the credit advices prescribed under COA circular No. 2003-003.”

The auditors said this practice often resulted in the understatement of cash advances.

The COA recommended that Mayor Oscar Moreno request Emano to follow up with the office of the COA chairman the issuance of credit advices to be used as bases in the crediting of the cash advances in the book of accounts.

It also recommended that city hall require the city accountant to restore the recording in the book of accounts of cash advances that did not have corresponding credit notices for monitoring purposes.

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