CORRECTIVE actions after an honest mistake proved enough to persuade the Commission on Audit (COA) to lift the disallowance issued against a P470,400 transaction by an association of former rebels in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
In a six-page decision released only this week, the COA en banc upheld the ruling of COA-CAR that set aside the Notice of Disallowance issued in 2015 against the Benguet Saguday Livelihood Association Inc. (BSLAI), a group of former armed rebels from the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA).
Records showed that former communist rebels under the CPLA surrendered their firearms and signed a peace deal with the Philippine government through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on July 4, 2011 to formalize their reintegration.
Under the memorandum of agreement, the government committed to provide livelihood assistance, employment opportunities, and other sources of income for the disarmed rebels.
In 2013, the former rebels formed the BSLAI which secured a P2.7 million livelihood fund from the OPAPP while the provincial government of Benguet under then governor Nestor Fongwan acted as fund administrator.
The P2.7 million cash assistance was released in three tranches contingent upon compliance with conditions, which included submission of the project proposal, implementation by the proponent, and submission of a report upon completion.
During audit in 2015, auditors disallowed the P470,400 payment for the purchase of fertilizers, growth booster, and flower enhancer on the ground that the BSLAI failed to secure a license from the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) for the sale, distribution, and marketing of fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals.
Held liable were BSLAI general manager Thomas Tanacio and president Carlito Payangdo.
In its appeal, the BSLAI explained that the licensing requirement was never pointed out when it presented the livelihood project. It was notified of the restriction only during inspection of the procurement by the provincial agriculturist.
BSLAI admitted that because its members are poorly educated being former communist rebels, they were unfamiliar with existing laws, hence the infraction was unintended.
In its decision, the COA en banc called out the provincial government for its failure to provide sufficient guidance to the BSLAI when the objective of the project was to transform the group into a potential socio-economic force.
“The immediate application of BSLAI for the necessary license with the FPA upon informed by the Provincial Agriculturist shows good faith on its part to abide by the requirements of law,” the Commission said. “The eventual issuance by the FPA of a license to BSLAI validates that the latter passed the qualifications to become a seller or distributor of fertilizers and other farm inputs.”
