FORMER Commission on Elections executive director Jose Tolentino Jr., deputy executive director for operations Bartolome Sinocruz Jr., and deputy director for administration Estrella De Mesa have failed to convince the Commission on Audit to exclude their names from the list of persons held liable for the disallowance of travel expenses reimbursements totaling P8.27 million.
In a decision released last week, the COA Commission Proper denied the petition for review filed by the former Comelec officials, citing lack of merit, and affirmed the stand of the COA National Government Sector that they were correctly included in the 54 notices of disallowance issued on November 3, 2011.
Even if the appeal was filed beyond the 180-day reglementary period, the COA allowed the petition, noting that determination of the propriety of financial transactions of the Comelec is of national importance.
The NDs covered reimbursement of travel expenses of poll officers in the provinces of Tawi-tawi and Sulu in 2008 and 2009.
Based on records, election officer Jacob Malik Usad collected P1.37 million, Julieta Santos P514,650, Datu Verdeprado P3.33 million, and Sabdani Bakri P3.042 million after Tolentino, Sinocruz and De Mesa approved their reimbursement requests.
However, these were disallowed in an audit on the ground that the claims were “excessive, unconscionable, and contrary to Section 5 of Executive Order No. 298.”
Auditors found it unlikely that the election officers spent up to P181,000 for two-day trips, paying out of their own pockets before seeking reimbursements.
“The election officers claimed reimbursement of more than P100,000 for each travel itinerary. Such claims were clearly exorbitant considering that each itinerary was for a two-day trip only,” the audit team pointed out.
Likewise, the requests for reimbursement were not backed by any proof that the claimants actually went to the place of assignment.
Tolentino and Sinocruz argued that their signatures were forged but the COA gave little weight to the assertion, noting that the opinion of Comelec handwriting experts was not binding.
The COA also noted that as the final approving authority, both were expected to be prudent before approving reimbursements, especially where the amounts involved strain credibility.