THE Commission on Audit has affirmed the disallowance issued in 2019 against the payment of various cash allowances to two provincial officials of Zamboanga del Sur.
In a 16-page en banc ruling, the COA ordered provincial veterinarian Anita Chua to refund the sum of P3,477,582.48 broken down as P696,582.48 hazard pay, P277,200 subsistence allowance, and P2,503,800 representation and transportation allowance (RATA) in 2019.
Likewise, provincial human resource officer Bernarda Quirante was told to pay back P2,525,050, which she received as RATA in the same year.
Records showed that the two were among the provincial officers whose services were terminated after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Zamboanga del Sur approved a new staffing pattern in 2001 to address a reduced Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share following the creation of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Chua and Quirante challenged the validity of their termination and won favorable rulings from the Civil Service Commission and Supreme Court, ordering their reinstatement to their old positions and payment of full back wages.
However, the audit team issued a Notice of Disallowance to the payment of RATA, hazard pay, and subsistence allowance of Chua and RATA for Quirante since such stipends are paid only to agency personnel who rendered actual service.
Since both were out of work while fighting the loss of their jobs, auditors said they could not have reported for work.
“The petitioners in this case were terminated and the positions they vacated were handed to new appointees. They did not render actual services during the period of their termination,” the COA pointed out.
