THE Commission on Audit has tagged as questionable the National Youth Commission’s P31.4 million training expenses and P5.43 million domestic travel expenses due to “excessive payment of hotel room reservations” and “incomplete documentation” of disbursements.
Based on the 2022 audit report, NYC’s local travel expenses jumped by 321 percent from P1.29 million in 2021 to P5.43 million in 2022.
On the other hand, training expenses ballooned by 575 percent over the same period from P4.65 million to P31.4 million.
“The validity and propriety of Training Expenses and Travelling Expenses-Local accounts of NYC amounting to P31,397,525.08 and P5,427,196.43 respectively, could not be ascertained due to lack of proper planning in the various activities of NYC,” auditors said.
The audit team reminded the agency that Presidential Decree No. 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines requires all public offices that all resources of the government must be spent in accordance with laws and regulations and safeguarded against loss or wastage through improper utilization.
Under the same rules, the responsibility to ensure compliance “rests directly with the head of the government agency.”
Among the seminars/trainings questioned in the audit were the April 5 to 11, 2022 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Summit in Baguio City booked at Newtown Plaza Hotel for 1,105 attendees where only 940 showed up wasting reservations for 165 persons;
The October 22 to 28, 2022 #OneVisayas SK Summit at La Carmela de Boracay Hotel and Convention Center on Boracay Island where only 676 showed up, or 24 short of the reservation for 700;
The October 17 to 31, 2022 SK Summit at Whiterock Beach Hotel in Subic, Zambales for 620 people attended by only 484 with 175 no-shows;
The November 9 to 12, 2022 SK National Youth First Aid and Disaster Risk Reduction Management Training at Bohol Tropics Resort in Bohol with seven rooms left unoccupied while five attendees left after just the first day; and
The November 26 to 29, 2022 SK National Youth First Aid Summit and DRRM Training at Fort Ilocandia Resort in Ilocos Norte where eight people left after the first day of the event.
Also mentioned in the audit report were the November 23 to 28, 2022 National Youth Convention at Baguio Crown Legacy Hotel where out of 553 persons with reservations, only 484 showed up or a discrepancy of 69;
The December 5, 2022 NYC Year End Planning Conference in Canyon Woods Resorts in Batangas with 16 out of 50 failing to attend; and
The December 5 to 6, 2022 NYC Team Building Program also in Canyon Woods Resorts with 55 excess reservations due to the date coinciding with another activity.
