LEYTE Rep. Richard “Goma” Gomez yesterday objected to what he said were malicious news reports on donations in-kind received by the Ormoc City government in the first half of 2022 while he was the city mayor.
In a prepared statement released to reporters, the lawmaker said there was no finding of irregularity about transactions of the local government in the 2022 audit report on Ormoc City released last June 7.
However, he said the Commission on Audit issued an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) concerning issues that required clarifications, including the allegedly “missing” in-kind donations.
The audit report listed 200 sacks of rice (25 kilograms per sack) and 150 10-liter bottles of drinking water from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on January 12, 2022; 12 tablets (brand not disclosed) from the National Housing Authority (NHA), January 2022; 46 wheelchairs from Pitmaster Foundation (Providing Indigent Timely Medical Assistance Service and Targeted Emergency Relief), March 2022; 1,000 white T-shirts from Panda City Merchandise Inc. owner James Sy, February 2022; and trash bins from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources — Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 8, March 2022.
Also mentioned were three sets of weighing scales from Ajinomoto but these were received in August 2022, after Gomez’s term as mayor.
Auditors noted that the donations did not appear in the city government’s books, either with the Accounting Office or the General Services Office, although photos of the delivery and acceptance were posted on the city’s official Facebook page.
The Accounting Office informed auditors it was not aware of any in-kind donations received by the city as they appeared on Facebook, hence no accounting entries were made.
The City General Services Office said the rice and drinking water were not turned over to it but to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The CDRRMO said the rice and drinking water were not intended for the city but for Southern Leyte, which sustained more damage from Typhoon Odette.
This notwithstanding the categorical statement on the Facebook post that the donations were intended to “further provide assistance to the City Government of Ormoc in its relief operations.” The post did not mention anything about forwarding the grains and bottled water to Southern Leyte.
Gomez explained that under his administration, the city government regularly tapped non-government organizations to receive donations for Ormoc City but these are no longer recorded in the books because no local government fund is involved.
“These donations are not inputted in the city’s records because the city did not spend for these donations. The only role of the city government is to facilitate the transfer of the donations,” he pointed out.
He said posting the donations on the city’s official social media platforms is in keeping with his administration’s efforts to promote transparency and accountability.
