Ex-town treasurer, 10 others in P2M Tigbauan cash shortage
The Commission on Audit (COA) has now narrowed down its findings on the cash shortage in the financial coffers of the Municipality of Tigbauan, Province of Iloilo.
With some P2 million in government funds illegally taken thus ordered to be refunded and immediately returned, former town treasurer Manuel Tabalada Jr. stands to be the most liable from amongst the group of municipal officials and employees involved. He also had under his name P1,666,529.68 in amount to be fully refunded to the municipal government. Yet in the over-all COA findings, government auditors noted that while Tabalada Jr. is "primarily liable and accountable for his improper acts," yet fellow workers in government took advantage of his goodness.
This, COA pointed out to the town mayor in a letter dated June 28, 2006 while adding that administrative sanctions must be initiated against the erring personnel "who are not accountable officers but had availed or benefited themselves from the cash collections of Mr. Tabalada."
In a special audit, the COA team discovered highly irregular and illegal practice in said town where officials and town employees would use the cash collections of the town for a particular transaction.
Liquidation demanded by COA even disclosed of one purchase supposedly for an official expense that stated one bottle of Gin and one bottle of whisky. A close aide of the mayor, Joji Santillana was also mentioned for having encashed a P250,000 check from Malacañang. Tabalada told the COA, Santillana personally hand-carried the check which he also encashed using the town's general fund collections.
Similar occurrence in a P18,975 check that Luz Tronco, Human Resource Officer also encashed from the cash collections of the beleaguered former treasurer.
Altogether, State Auditor III Ana Rose Cynthia Lebrilla and four other team members found that full refund must be sought from town accountant Salvacion Trayfalgar, Treasurer's Office workers/collectors Rosanella Cagape, Vivien Ledesma, Eduardo Ledesma, Josette Glarino, George Tinguban and Luz Torrigue.
Also included in the list were Nora Tupan, a utility worker who stands to refund P69,000 that also contributed to the cash shortage, Renetha Tubongbanua with over P239,000 in accountability and Liberty Triste.
Sources said that Vivien Ledesma has since gone 'missing' with yet another P500,000 in questioned financial dealings. Reports disclosed that Ledesma stands to liable for falsifying documents regarding the P.5 million discrepancy.