BY Peter Tabingo
FIVE brand new Toyota Innova acquired by the Government Arsenal on November 21, 2019 promptly disappeared never making it into the agency’s fleet of service vehicles or the Physical Inventory Report issued eight months later on June 30, 2020.
The five cars, each with a price tag of P1.217 million or a total of P6.085 million, were listed in the 2020 audit report of the GA as “non-existent motor vehicles,” together with an Isuzu car, two fire trucks, a Toyota Hi-ace Commuter van, a Toyota Corona sedan, a Toyota Mini-Cruiser and an Isuzu Crosswind AUV.
They later surfaced as part of the assets of the Department of National Defense.
Verification by the audit team established that the five Innova were “donated” by GA to the Department of National Defense and were listed in the latter’s physical inventory as of December 31, 2019.
The donation, however, had no basis whatsoever in accounting and audit rules.
The COA noted that based on records, the five brand new vehicles were acquired through barter.
However, according to the provisions of RA 10349 or the Revised AFP Modernization Act of 2012, all items acquired from barter were supposed to be booked up as part of the agency’s property while proceeds were to be deposited in the AFP Modernization Trust Fund.
The COA noted that the GA opted to acquire the vehicles by barter because its corporate budget does not have enough room for such procurement hence, the donation raised questions.
“The equipment and vehicles provided in the contract to barter in exchange for the assorted brass scraps are presumably needed by the Agency which it could not procure on its own due to budget constraints. Therefore, the same are not for donation to other government agencies,” the audit team noted.
In addition, the COA pointed out that under the National Budget Circular No. 425, items for donation should be limited to those that are already considered “unserviceable.”
The GA acknowledged the adverse audit observation.
“Management admitted that the donation of brand new vehicles acquired through barter was inappropriate considering the conditions governing the disposal of government property,” the COA said.
With regard to the other “non-existent” motor vehicles, the GA admitted it is clueless.
“Other vehicles consisting of one unit Isuzu car, two units Fire truck, Hi-ace Commuter, Toyota Corona and Toyota Mini cruiser …are no longer visible within the premises of the GA. Reportedly, the TMS has no knowledge of the whereabouts of these vehicles,” the audit team noted.
Auditors likewise reported that most of the vehicles in GA’s fleet are not marked “For Official Use Only” in violation of the COA Circular No. 77-61.
Two agency-owned motor vehicles — a Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck and a Daewoo bus — were even found sporting private car plates.
