Deficiencies Found In An Anomalous Payment Transaction At The Local Government of Manila

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