THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) yesterday asked Deputy Administrator Faustino Sabarez III to explain the P1.2 million worth of expenditures for hygiene kits, food, and other supplies that was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said he asked Sabarez to explain the expenses, including the purchase of sanitary napkins from a hardware store for P35 apiece.
“Deputy Administrator Faustino Sabarez III, who headed our ground operations at the height of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in March-June 2020, is given a chance to explain his side and liquidate his cash advance,” Cacdac said in a statement.
He appealed to the public, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), to give the agency sufficient time to address the issues raised by COA.
“As we go through the COA process of explaining the operational expenditure of P1.2 million, I humbly seek your patience and understanding,” Cacdac said, adding he is confident concerned officials and personnel would be able to sufficiently explain the expenditures.
Cacdac also assured OFWs and their families that the agency’s funds were not part of the issues flagged by COA.
“The amount of P1.2 million for the purchase of operations-related supplies was not sourced from the OWWA Trust Fund, but the General Appropriations Act,” he said.
The OWWA Trust Fund comes from the US$25 membership contributions of every OFW member of the agency.
COA had earlier asked the OWWA to explain, among others, the purchase of hygiene kits and sanitary napkins worth P822,420 from a certain MRCJP Construction and Trading in Pasay City.
State auditors also noted that the sanitary pads had a price tag of up to P35 each, when it can be bought in sari-sari stores at P5 to P8 apiece.
