WHEN the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) held a yearend party on December 12, 2022, something unlikely happened: out of 165 personnel present, only the 46 job order and three retirees won raffled cash prizes.
Government bean counters said the percentage of that happening is so low it cannot be expressed in decimal places on a regular calculator.
“The manner of selection is doubtful since the probability of selecting all the 46 JOs and three retirees out of the 165 TPB personnel present in the event is only at 4.16665 E-41 which is extremely low,” the audit team pointed out.
Stated otherwise, something fishy happened and the Commission on Audit is unconvinced with the management’s declaration that “the winners of the raffle were drawn at random.”
An Audit Query Memorandum (AQM) was issued addressed to the special disbursing officer (SDO) and the head of TPB’s Finance Department seeking the submission of documents showing the mechanics for the selection of the raffle winners as well as the legal basis for the grant of said prizes.
As of the release of the TPB’s 2022 audit report, however, auditors said both officials have yet to comply.
“Despite the issuance of the AQM, the SDO, and OIC, FD could not submit proof that the winners were fairly selected and not pre-selected,” the audit team stressed.
Out of the 46 JO hires who were present, 44 received cash prizes of P10,000 while the other two received P5,000 each. The three retirees also ended up as winners of P10,000 each.
In all, the TPB gave away P510,000 in cash prizes to the various winners on top of raffle prizes in kind, which cost the agency another P113,563.30.
Auditors said the expenses were charged against the Special Account to General Fund (SAGF) which is the source of the TPB’s corporate budget and the same money spent on projects and programs for promoting local tourism.
“The said cash prizes seem to be irregular since these could be considered as additional compensation for the JO personnel on top of what is allowed in their respective contracts,” they pointed out.
While insisting that winners were picked at random, TPB officials explained that they deemed that giving agency personnel cash will help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the falling purchasing power of the Philippine peso.
Nonetheless, the TPB assured the COA it will not give out cash as raffle prizes again.
