DOT to comply with COA order on undocumented P503M in expenses

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday (Aug. 29) gave assurance it would review recent findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) flagging P503.7 million in disbursements made by the department in 2018 without supporting documents.

In a statement, the DOT said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat already instructed the department’s officials to prepare the documents and comply with the COA requirement.

It said Puyat “maintains that the agency remains committed to the administration’s policy of transparency and accountability.”

The COA report said P484.1 million of the undocumented expenses were made by the department’s central office.

Regional DOT offices in Central Luzon and Caraga regions also have disbursements not covered by documents. The Central Luzon office spent P6.8 million while the Caraga office spent P4.6 million. /tsb

READ: DOT’s P507-M disbursements lacked supporting documents — COA