Tigbauan strikes anew
Official transactions and financial dealings in the Municipality of Tigbauan, Iloilo need major overhauling and major make-over.
This, the latest findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) disclosed that uncovered continued mismanagement and incidents of illegalities, irregularities and fraudulent deals here. Worse still, Saturday's death of a municipal employee cum top aide of the former mayor that shocked locals was believed to be linked to an indigent-fund scam uncovered by the COA.
The Commission through its government auditors conducted a thorough check on Tigbauan's records that now revealed questionable and questioned transactions.
For one, COA confirmed undeposited cash collections of the town despite persistent reminder to the officer in charge in the Municipal Treasurer's Office. And it does not stop there. Same cash collections are also used as payments of expenditures that is contrary to law.
As COA pointed out, the head of office should "exercise diligence of a good father under his control to prevent occurrence of loss of government fund and property otherwise he shall be liable jointly and solidarily with the person primarily liable thereof."
And like the previous years, irregular expenditures again were discovered, this time victimizing the town's poorest of the poor.
COA as per validation uncovered an indigent-fund scam passed off as a financial assistance to select beneficiaries yet in reality, bulk of the money was not given to the indigents themselves.
"Confirmation conducted by the team to various beneficiaries revealed that the purpose for which this financial assistance was intended was defeated," the COA reported. Worse too, was more discovery that the town's social worker did not get to verify the identities of the beneficiaries.
As it now turned out, some of the supposed indigents were not really the "poorest of the poor" but were relatives of the employees of municipality.
"...others are living luxuriously in concrete houses with complete sets of appliances like 25-inch colored TV, components, electric fans, etc.," the COA report continued.
Checks were also not given directly to the beneficiaries but to a the former mayor's aide, Liberty Triste. And instead of the P5,000 released by the government, only P1,000 were received by the indigents.
More discoveries too of over P1.7 million undeposited cash collections, reason why COA wants Edwin Pirote, town's acting treasurer out of the post.
Do not renew his extension of designation,the Commission told the Tigbauan hierarchy.
Meantime, COA wants the new mayor James Excel Torres to take note of adverse findings on the management of his mother, former Mayor Myrna Torres.
At least two major COA findings were not heeded by the former administration including the payment sought from a former top town executive as well. To recall, over P520,000 in cash shortage was discovered. Yet as COA now found out, the accountable officer, also a known ally of the former mayor managed to "escape."
"Not implemented because the accountable officer absconded," the COA in its report stated.
Similar adverse observation where the former mayor failed to create a committee as recommended in order to investigate irregularities and anomalies in one government project.
"She should also file appropriate charges against the erring officials and employees," the COA wrote while adding a remark, "Not implemented because no action was taken by the Local Chief Executive."
The indigent-fund scam has opened anew the gates for government auditors to inspect the town's records. Among the evidences taken by the COA team were handwritten notes of indigents confirming the financial assistance of P1,000 and not P5,000. More validation is expected with the matter now brought out in public.