SEVENTEEN years ago, the National Food Authority (NFA) Council approved Resolution No. 226-2K5 authorizing the annual grant of Food and Grocery Incentives (FGI) to all officials and employees as “yuletide incentive” worth P20,000 each.
In a decision released last week, the Commission on Audit ordered all recipients to refund the sum to the government, affirming the 2016 ruling of the COA Corporate Government Sector that declared the extra compensation as illegal.
Held liable in the notices of disallowance were NFA provincial manager Marciano Alvarez, senior accounting specialist Erlene Carangian, personnel and general services officer Aurora Medrano, grains operations officer Veronidia Santos, and recipient agency personnel.
Records showed P1.955 million was paid out in 2008 and P2.28 million in 2010 or a total of P4.235 million.
The audit team said the incentive had no legal basis since it was not identified as an exception to allowances and benefits that are deemed integrated in standardized summary release under RA 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law.
In their appeal, NFA officials said the grant of FGI was based on the authority granted by former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
They added the FGI had been traditionally distributed to NFA, hence the issuance of disallowance violated the principle of non-diminution of benefit.
The COA Commission Proper said the reliance on the issuances of Estrada and Arroyo was misplaced since they involved a different allowance, not FGI.
“The December 8, 1998 approval of then President Estrada, invoked by Mr. Alvarez et al., was on the food assistance and emergency allowance requested by former NFA Administrator Edno Joson. There is nothing in said approval which shows that the grant can be extended to the subsequent years,” the commission said.
On the other hand, it noted that Arroyo’s memorandum dated November 4, 2003 did not confer authority to grant the FGI. In fact, FGI was never mentioned in it.
Likewise, the COA pointed out that regardless of the claim that the FGI has been traditionally given to NFA personnel and stopping it would be contrary to non-diminution of benefits, there was no proof that the practice was compliant with RA 6758.
“There can be no diminution of benefits when its recipients are not entitled to the benefits in the first place. Article 2254 of the Civil Code provides, ‘no vested or acquired right can arise from acts or omissions which are against the law’,” the COA declared.
It said all agency officials who are directly responsible for or had a part in the illegal expenditure are “solidarily liable for their reimbursement.”
