On Robredo’s “Transparency at Work,” which is actually “Transparency at Worst,” I cited last week COA’s findings of unliquidated cash advances for year ended Dec. 31, 2007: “Cash advances amounting to P1,896,885.55 were granted without first settling or a proper accounting thereof was made of the previous cash advance, while cash advances totaling P8,168,269.61 were not liquidated within the prescribed period, contrary to Sections 4.1.2 and 5.1 of COA Circular No. 97-002, respectively. These defects created doubts on the validity and regularity of the grant and liquidation thereof.”
Recalling further, Robredo became Mayor again in 2001, re-elected in 2004 and in 2007 for a final term. Now, COA’s reports since 2002, as summarized below, actually reveal persistent violations and sheer inability to enforce accountability throughout his much-ballyhooed Kaya Natin “good governance”—
2002: “Cash advances amounting to P1,837,414.75 remained unliquidated at year end, contrary to Sec. 89 of PD 1445, COA Circulars 92-382 and 97-002 dated July 3, 1992 and February 10, 1997, respectively, which requires that all cash advances shall be liquidated at the end of each year.”
2003: “Of this amount [P1,837,414.75 unliquidated cash advances in 2002], P957, 357.19 were liquidated as of Dec 31, 2003. The remaining balance represents cash advances of disbursing officers, which are still in process for lack of supporting documents; and of former employees who are now either retired, resigned and/or deceased.”
2004: “The inability of Management to enforce the rules and regulations in granting of cash advances and the delay in recording of cash advance liquidations and refunds, resulted to the overstatement of asset account and understatement of expenses.”
2005: “A total amount of P2,570,219.22 representing cash advances of P50,000.00 and above aged 30 days or over from due date of liquidation remained unliquidated at the end of the year.”
2006: “Cash Advances were granted, utilized and liquidated without following the provisions of COA Circular No. 97-002 dated February 10, 1997 which resulted to unliquidated cash advances amounting to P2,656,216.66 for account Due from Officers and Employees (123) and P2,324,685.79 for account Cash-Disbursing Officers (103) as of December 31, 2006.”
Notably, the amounts of unliquidated cash advances increased from P1,837,414.75 in 2002 to P8,168,269.61 in 2007, with big jumps in 2006 and 2007.
Curiously, 2007 was an election year. Were some of these cash advances used for Robredo’s re-election and ubos-kung-ubos? Consider these two largest unliquidated cash advances close to the elections on May 14, 2007: (1) May 8, 2007 by Office of the City Mayor through Jose A. Cuyo, Jr., Supervising Administrative Officer I (now Admin. Officer IV) – P210,939.40 for “Purchase of dozens of sando and shorts” and (2) April 23, 2007 by Wilfran Calleja, CAgO-City Agriculturist – P197,068.50 for “Training and other expenses.”
Abraham Lincoln once said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
What say you?