The Commission on Audit filed a two-page notice of disallowance last October 29, 2009 against some of the government officials in the city of Manila. The notice was filed after it was found that the claims for the consultancy payment of the 21 consultants, who were supposedly appointed to work at the office of the mayor, were deficient. However, based from the results of the audit prepared by Domingo C. Bocalan Jr., State Auditor IV, the submitted vouchers or payrolls for the period covering July1, 2007 to June 30, 2009 for alleged contracted services were void and that the supposed 21 consultants were fictitious employees. The illegal transaction was said to have cost the city the amount of P5,058,000.00.
The notice of disallowance was filed soon after Mayor Alfredo Lim said in his affidavit that he did not have any knowledge, whatsoever, of the said transaction, and that he never authorized the purported contracted services to take place. As a follow up, Lim also noted that he did not sign any contract for the said services nor did he allowed the fictitious consultants to receive any consultation fees or compensations. Lim's claims in his affidavit were backed up by three of his trusted staff. They are Rowena Senatin, Helen Natividad and Arturo Mijares.
In their affidavit, the three staff pointed out that the names of the 21 consultants in the payrolls submitted to them were not appointed by the mayor to work in his office. The three also confirmed that the consultants were fictitious. Such government anomaly is an indication of the existence of illegal transactions taking place in the local government of Manila. Likewise, this transaction was not necessarily carried out to help the city but a mere justification for the involved personnel to acquire personal gains.
The notice given by the Commission on Audit named 11 officials from the accounting and property division of Manila. The officials include Pacifico Lagramada, Yolanda Ignacio, Marleen Young, Gloria Quilantang, Vicky Valientes, Erlinda Marteja, Philip Cabalun II, Cherry Chan, Alicia Moscaya, Fritz Noel Borres, and Rodelio Leyson. The said officials consented the release of P5,058,000.00 as a payment to the non-existent consultants for their supposed services to the mayor's office. Mayor Alfredo Lim and the affidavit of his staffs attested the involvement of the said personnel.
In the notice submitted by Bocolan, he recommended that the involved personnel from the accounting and property division of the city of Manila to refund the P5,058,000.00. The said amount was the payment for the consultants of the alleged contracted services. The notice of disallowance given by the Commission on Audit is final and executory under the law, and can only be appealed by the involved participants in the anomalous transaction within six months from the day the notice was filed. Inability to comply to the notice will give the Commission on Audit the power to resort to necessary actions to enforce proper penalties.
Mayor Alfredo Lim may have given his words in order to justify the existence of this anomalous transaction; still, it cannot be denied that there is something inconsistent about the whole story. The only question that needs to be answered in this incident is how did the transaction came to fruition if Mayor Lim did not approve it in the first place? While there may have been people held liable for this transaction, the above question is a simple inquiry to further shed light on how the transaction was carried out. Perhaps this question is needed to be answered for the public's understanding.
A notice of disallowance was given by the Commission on Audit against some of the government officials from the city of Manila. The notice was filed following the deficiencies found in the vouchers submitted to the Commission on Audit, which contained the supposed payment for 21 fictitious consultants. This government anomaly had cost the city P5,058,000.00. Mayor Alfredo Lim noted that he did not approve and signed any of the contracts for the said consultation services.
-Julius Arante
A two-page notice of disallowance against some of the government officials in the city Manila was released by the Commission on Audit last October 29, 2009. The Commission on Audit filed the said notice when they found out that there were deficiencies on the voucher presented by the officials, which concerned the payments for the alleged contracted services of 21 consultants. The said vouchers did not complement the audit prepared by Domingo C. Bocalan Jr., State Auditor IV and that the vouchers were void because the 21 consultants listed in the payroll were inexistent. Accordingly, the anomalous transaction cost Manila the amount of P5,058,000.00.
The said notice of disallowance was released after Mayor Alfredo Lim stated in his affidavit, the he never authorized nor appointed Nelson Del Mundo and the rest of the supposed 21 consultants to work in his office. Lim also said that he has not signed any contract of services suggesting the said consultants' appointment nor did he approved the said entities to collect consultation fees or compensations. The Mayor's statement was backed up by three officers assigned at the city Mayor's office. Ms. Rowena Senatin, Ms. Helen Natividad and Mr. Arturo Mijares were the said officials who attested Lim's words through their affidavits.
The three office staff said in their affidavit that the consultants, whose names appeared in the voucher submitted to them, were never employed by the mayor. Senatin, Natividad and Mijares also confirmed that consultants in the voucher were inexistent. This particular government anomaly is just one of the corrupt practices plaguing Manila's local government. Nonetheless, like any other forms of illegal activities, the transaction was done in order to benefit the people involved.
The notice given by the Commission on Audit named 11 officials from the accounting and property division of Manila. The named officials were Pacifico Lagramada, Yolanda Ignacio, Marleen Young, Gloria Quilantang, Vicky Valientes, Erlinda Marteja, Philip Cabalun II, Cherry Chan, Alicia Moscaya, Fritz Noel Borres, and Rodelio Leyson. The said individuals were responsible for facilitating the payment of the fictitious 21 consultants worth P5,058,000.00 without rendering actual services. Their names were confirmed by the affidavit presented by Mayor Alfredo Lim and three of his staff.
The involved personnel from the accounting and property division of the city of Manila were recommended by Bocolan, in his notice of disallowance, to return the full amount of P5,058,000.00. The said amount was the payment for the consultants of the alleged contracted services. The notice given by the Commission of Audit was final, giving the involved officials six months to settle the issue. The inability to comply with the notice will allow the Commission on Audit to take necessary actions in order to settle the issue.
Although the words of Mayor Alfredo Lim may have served as the justification for the named individuals to be held liable by the Commission on Audit, it appears that there is something wrong with this transaction. The only question that needs to be answered in this incident is how did the transaction came to fruition if Mayor Lim did not approve it in the first place? Although the involved people in this anomalous transaction were already held liable for their corrupt practice, answering this question would somehow shed light to the blind side of the story. The public is waiting for this side of the story to be clarified.
Some officials from the city of Manila were involved in yet another government anomaly. The Commission on Audit filed a notice of disallowance against 11 Manila officials after deficiencies on the vouchers were found during the auditing process. The voucher contained the alleged consultancy fees of 21 fictitious consultants, who purportedly contracted to work for the office of the Mayor. Mayor Alfredo Lim claimed that he did not sign any contract concerning the appointment of the said consultants.
-Julius Arante
A two-page notice of disallowance against some of the government officials in the city Manila was released by the Commission on Audit last October 29, 2009. The notice was filed after it was found that the claims for the consultancy payment of the 21 consultants, who were supposedly appointed to work at the office of the mayor, were deficient. Domingo C. Bocalan Jr., State Auditor IV, who did the auditing of the said vouchers claimed that the 21 names of the consultants included in the payroll submitted for auditing were unreal, and that the contracted services did not took place. Accordingly, the anomalous transaction cost Manila the amount of P5,058,000.00.
The notice of disallowance was filed soon after Mayor Alfredo Lim said in his affidavit that he did not have any knowledge, whatsoever, of the said transaction, and that he never authorized the purported contracted services to take place. Lim also said that he has not signed any contract of services suggesting the said consultants' appointment nor did he approved the said entities to collect consultation fees or compensations. Lim's claims in his affidavit were backed up by three of his trusted staff. Ms. Rowena Senatin, Ms. Helen Natividad and Mr. Arturo Mijares were the said officials who attested Lim's words through their affidavits.
According to the officials, the names of the consultants that appeared in the payrolls that was submitted to them by some of the members of the accounting and property division of the city of Manila were not included in the list of consultants that were employed by the mayor. The three also confirmed that the consultants were fictitious. Such government anomaly is an indication of the existence of illegal transactions taking place in the local government of Manila. Nonetheless, like any other forms of illegal activities, the transaction was done in order to benefit the people involved.
The notice given by the Commission on Audit named 11 officials from the accounting and property division of Manila. The named officials were Pacifico Lagramada, Yolanda Ignacio, Marleen Young, Gloria Quilantang, Vicky Valientes, Erlinda Marteja, Philip Cabalun II, Cherry Chan, Alicia Moscaya, Fritz Noel Borres, and Rodelio Leyson. Subsequently, the aforementioned officials facilitated the payment amounting to P5,058,000.00 among the 21 fictitious consultants, who never rendered actual services. Mayor Alfredo Lim and his staff confirmed that names of the perpetrators.
Bocolan recommended in the notice of disallowance that the identified perpetrators from the accounting and property division of the city of Manila to refund the full amount of P5,058,000.00. The said amount was representative of the payment of salaries of the fictitious consultants, who were supposedly contracted by the city mayor. The notice given by the Commission of Audit was final, giving the involved officials six months to settle the issue. Accordingly, if the said individuals were not able to comply, the commission would take the necessary steps in order to enforce the notice.
Mayor Alfredo Lim may have given his words in order to justify the existence of this anomalous transaction; still, it cannot be denied that there is something inconsistent about the whole story. It is known that every local project are needed to be approved by the mayor before it is facilitated; in this instance though, what remains questionable is the fact that the project was not hindered although Mayor Lim said that he did not approved it. While the involved personnel were held liable for this transaction, the fact remains that there is a blind side to this story that remains to be addressed. The public is waiting for this side of the story to be clarified.
Some officials from the city of Manila were involved in yet another government anomaly. The Commission on Audit filed a notice of disallowance against 11 Manila officials after deficiencies on the vouchers were found during the auditing process. The voucher contained the alleged consultancy fees of 21 fictitious consultants, who purportedly contracted to work for the office of the Mayor. Mayor Alfredo Lim claimed that he did not sign any contract concerning the appointment of the said consultants.
-Julius Arante
The Commission on Audit filed a two-page notice of disallowance last October 29, 2009 against some of the government officials in the city of Manila. The notice was filed after it was found that the claims for the consultancy payment of the 21 consultants, who were supposedly appointed to work at the office of the mayor, were deficient. However, based from the results of the audit prepared by Domingo C. Bocalan Jr., State Auditor IV, the submitted vouchers or payrolls for the period covering July1, 2007 to June 30, 2009 for alleged contracted services were void and that the supposed 21 consultants were fictitious employees. This under-the-table transaction have cost the city P5,058,000.00.
The notice of disallowance was filed soon after Mayor Alfredo Lim said in his affidavit that he did not have any knowledge, whatsoever, of the said transaction, and that he never authorized the purported contracted services to take place. The Mayor also added that he never signed any contract related to the purported services nor did he granted the payment for the supposed 21 consultants. Lim's claims in his affidavit were backed up by three of his trusted staff. The three office staff who supported the mayor's statement were Rowena Senatin, Helen Natividad and Arturo Mijares.
In their affidavit, the three staff pointed out that the names of the 21 consultants in the payrolls submitted to them were not appointed by the mayor to work in his office. The three also confirmed that the consultants were fictitious. This particular government anomaly is just one of the corrupt practices plaguing Manila's local government. Nonetheless, like any other forms of illegal activities, the transaction was done in order to benefit the people involved.
The notice given by the Commission on Audit named 11 officials from the accounting and property division of Manila. They were Pacifico Lagramada, Yolanda Ignacio, Marleen Young, Gloria Quilantang, Vicky Valientes, Erlinda Marteja, Philip Cabalun II, Cherry Chan, Alicia Moscaya, Fritz Noel Borres, and Rodelio Leyson. The said individuals were responsible for facilitating the payment of the fictitious 21 consultants worth P5,058,000.00 without rendering actual services. Mayor Alfredo Lim and the affidavit of his staffs attested the involvement of the said personnel.
The involved personnel from the accounting and property division of the city of Manila were recommended by Bocolan, in his notice of disallowance, to return the full amount of P5,058,000.00. The said amount was representative of the payment of salaries of the fictitious consultants, who were supposedly contracted by the city mayor. The notice of disallowance given by the Commission on Audit is final and executory under the law, and can only be appealed by the involved participants in the anomalous transaction within six months from the day the notice was filed. Inability to comply to the notice will give the Commission on Audit the power to resort to necessary actions to enforce proper penalties.
Although Mayor Alfredo Lim, in his affidavit, served as the way to expose this particular corrupt activity, it appears that something in this picture does not coordinate. The only question that needs to be answered in this incident is how did the transaction came to fruition if Mayor Lim did not approve it in the first place? While there may have been people held liable for this transaction, the above question is a simple inquiry to further shed light on how the transaction was carried out. This side of the story is something that needs to be clarified to the public.
The Commission on Audit filed a notice of disallowance against some of the officials from the local government of the city of Manila. The notice was given as a response to the government anomaly that concerns the payment of P5,058,000.00 among the fictitious 21 consultants who were allegedly contracted to work for the office of Mayor Alfredo Lim. The Commission on Audit recommended the officials to refund the full amount as a means to settle the issue.
-Julius Arante
