FROM 2018 to 2022, the Corregidor Foundation Inc. (CFI), a 36-year-old government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC), has been operating and paying its personnel without authority from the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).
The Commission on Audit said this is in violation of GCG Memorandum Circular No. 2017-03 since the CFI was required to submit a Total Compensation Framework (TCF) for GCG’s approval.
The problem cropped up because CFI previously claimed it is not a GOCC.
On March 8, 2018, the CFI Board issued Resolution No. 2018-09 to kick off its transformation into a chartered government corporation.
A month earlier, it had also started executing new employment contracts using the salary rates under the Salary Standardization Law (SSL), which effectively increased salaries for all its employees despite the absence of a prior recommendation from the GCG and the required approval of the Office of the President.
This move ignored the 2010 Decision of the COA that CFI is a GOCC and subject to audit.
On June 4, 2019, the Supreme Court issued a decision affirming the COA ruling.
The GCG, in a 2017 directive, notified the CFI to submit a TCF and the actual salaries, benefits and allowances based on 2016 figures.
However, the CFI did not comply with the submission of documents but on June 8, 2018, the CFI chairman approved the appointment of agency personnel with salary patterned after the 2016 data.
“CFI did not write a request to GCG for the adoption of the Modified Salary Schedule nor submit the necessary supporting documents. Notwithstanding the non-compliance, appointments/ personnel service contracts were issued to all CFI employees effective February 1, 2018,” the COA said.
