COA flags APO Production for excessive per diems

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the APO Production Unit for going over the maximum limit for per diem payments for committee hearings that its principal officers attended during the year.

“The principal officers and the members of the governing Board of Trustees of APO were granted per diems on committee hearings totaling to P 2.226 million, which exceeded the allowable or maximum limit of per diems that should be granted for committee hearings actually attended during the year by P1.218 million,” a 2020 COA audit said.

The maximum per diem for APO’s principal officers is P 6,000 per committee hearing or a maximum of P144,000 per year. The per diem received by each principal officer ranged from P282,000 to as high as P330,000.

—JULIE M. AURELIO