THE Commission on Audit has issued an en banc decision ordering the lifting of the notice of disallowance issued in 2019 against the payment of hazard pay totaling P979,146.42 to medical and dental personnel under the Department of Education (DepEd)-Schools Division Office (SDO) of Marinduque province.
In its 11-page decision, the COA Commission Proper sustained the findings of the COA National Government Sector-Cluster 5 that the personnel who received the sums were entitled to such under the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers (RA 7305).
A notice of suspension (NS) was previously issued after the audit team noted the lack of proof that the recipient personnel had “actual exposure to hazards and hardships as determined by the Secretary of Health or the head of the agency” about the nature of their duties and responsibilities.
Citing Item No. 3.0 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Health (DOH) Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2016, auditors said hazard pay was intended for public health workers exposed to “great danger, occupational risks, perils to life, and physical hardships.”
The NS ripened into a disallowance after the DepEd-SDO Marinduque failed to submit the required documentation within the 90-day deadline.
In the decision released last week, COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba and Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario Lipana held that the Cluster director had sufficiently justified the grant of hazard pay to the DepEd medical and dental personnel.
“The payment of hazard pay to the DepEd’s medical and dental personnel was supported with the necessary certification from the DOH and other supporting documents and was covered by sufficient appropriation. Hence, the lifting of the ND is warranted as there is both legal and factual basis for the grant of the hazard pay to the appellants,” the commission said.
