COA flags AFP for failure to remit P469M to treasury

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines to immediately remit to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) unutilized funds totaling P469.12 million.

In its 2020 audit report on the AFP General Headquarters, COA noted that the P469.12 million consisting of donations, interest income, scholarship fund and other unused funding was still deposited in banks.

The unutilized funds included P2.17 million that was supposed to go to the payment of rewards and other claims and P33.7 million for allowances.

The COA called out the AFP for its failure to remit the funds and also flagged it for P130.178 million worth of disbursements without the required documents.

According to COA, the disbursements were used for the purchase of various military, police and traffic supplies from the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management.

It observed that the payments for the repairs and maintenance of facilities in the AFP central command lacked official receipts.

State auditors told the AFP to strictly adhere to the guidelines that all disbursements should have a receipt of payment, and to refrain from processing payments with incomplete documents.