COA affirms disallowance vs P1.1M overseas expenses of Nasugbu officials

THE Commission on Audit has thrown out the petition for review filed by former local government officials of Nasugbu, Batangas asking that the notice of disallowance (ND) be lifted against their P1.11 million expenses incurred during their week-long trip in Canada in 2014.

In its eight-page decision, the COA en banc held that the petitioners were not entitled to the P980,722 cash advance for the foreign trip and the P126,330.95 reimbursements since the expenses are considered “irregular expenditures.”

Held liable under the ND were former Nasugbu mayor Rosario Apacible, municipal accountant Arnold Chuidian, budget officer Edna Maligaya, tourism officer Perlita Rufo, legal officer Jearemmy Rosario, and Sangguniang Bayan member Roderick Cabral.

The six were selected as the municipal government’s delegates to the Philippine Sales Mission and Roadshow in the cities of Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver in Canada from April 1 to 7, 2014.

Auditors issued a notice of disallowance on the ground that the municipal appropriation for foreign travel during the year was only P210,000, which meant the trip had no valid funding.

Likewise, the audit team said the purpose of the travel lacked “urgency or necessity” since it was “beyond their respective mandates or functions.”

A notice of disallowance includes a requirement to refund the whole amount involved.

The officials defended the expenditure, saying they used the opportunity to promote Nasugbu as a “world-class tourism and investment site” while insisting that it was related to their public posts since they were all members of the Municipal Tourism and Development Council.

They added that the money used for the trip was charged against the Office of the Mayors’ maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).

The COA en banc, however, said the foreign travel violated the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 022-06 which does not allow post-travel authority.

It noted that what the Nasugbu officials presented was a travel authority issued by a DILG Undersecretary on May 20, 2014 after the Canada trip.

“The post-travel authority dated May 20, 2014, …allowing the payment of international