THE provincial government of Palawan has stopped serving snacks to officials and employees during simple meetings and has stayed within budget for the meals of jail inmates, the Commission on Audit (COA) noted in its 2020 audit of the province.
In its audit report, the COA said the Office of the Governor has issued Memorandum No. 153 ordering all departments to stop serving meals and snacks during regular sessions and conferences
The COA had earlier tagged as an “unnecessary and irregular” expense the P24.42 million that the provincial government spent in 2019 for meals and snacks that were served during meetings and other official gatherings..
Auditors noted that instead of being charged against the personal representation allowances of officials, the expense item was taken out of discretionary funds which are intended for a different purpose.
The Provincial Budget Office is now also requiring prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for any request for budget augmentation.
“The PACCO (Provincial Accounting Office) have also ensured the strict non-processing of disbursement vouchers for meals and snacks served during ordinary staff meetings,” the COA said.
Likewise, auditors said the province has fully implemented mandatory public bidding for the food supply contract for inmates in Palawan’s jails.
Last year, the COA found that food contracts amounting toP22.25 million did not undergo the required competitive bidding mandated by RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Auditors also found that the province spent P41.08 million on the food supplies of inmates, exceeding its P27.54 million budget by P13.54 million.
The Provincial Budget Officer disclosed that the overspending resulted from “direct augmentations” of the food budget by lump sum funds but the audit team found that this was not approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
At the same time, purchase of P5.75 million worth of rice for detainees was questioned as based on the average jail population of 883, auditors said it meant each inmate was allocated 830 grams of rice per day or more than double the 384 grams “normal consumption per pay per person.”
“All marketing for food supplies now is being verified by the PACCO if it is within the allowed daily budget allowance of P60 per day per prisoner,” the COA said.
