Capitol '07 expenses up by P74M, net income down by P26M
The Iloilo Provincial Government scored higher in last year's expenditures that reached over P1 billion as the year ended. The figure is P74 million more as compared to the previous year's provincial government spending power.
Such, as the net income went down by over P26 million if also compared from the 2006 record. Net income for this year was placed at over P96 million with the 2006 net income was then recorded at over P123 million.
Both opposing scenarios comprise this year's Annual Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA) with government auditors forced on rendering a "qualified opinion" on major accounts of the Capitol.
"Qualified opinion" because of failure to obtain "evidential matters," The News Today (TNT) gathered.
Financial statements verified by COA showed over P560 million in Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) account that were impossible to audit due to incomplete inventory taking. Added to it was "total unaccounted difference" of over P365 million in office buildings, office equipment and Information Technology (IT) equipment.
Further still, COA reported similar findings in the past audits where over P4.8 million in reported Cash-in-Bank were actually from closed bank accounts.
There was also the non-restoration of over P 5 million in stale checks and over P7.7 million in "unadjusted reconciling items" in same Cash-in-Bank report.
And unlike last year, the 2008 COA report merited a "focused" audit dubbed as "Value for Money (VFM)" audit on over P200 million worth of Capitol transactions.
The VFM was explained as necessary as it was "aimed at providing management, the public and other stakeholders with useful information and assessment about how well value for money has been regarded, and about how fairly and completely accountable officers have reported on it."
"The VFM audit focused on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the Local Government Unit (LGU) in the attainment of their plans and targets for the selected audit areas," COA State Auditor V Arlene Togonon stated in a memorandum for COA higher-ups.
A total of fifteen significant findings and recommendations formed part the 68-paged latest audit report with 35 pages of ‘annexed-documents.'
Six of the fifteen findings were all "calamity fund-related." This, as government auditors stood pat on its earlier findings of irregularities on the disbursements of the P10 million Presidential Calamity Fund given to the Iloilo Capitol due to the oil spill incident in Guimaras. (See related story)
Meantime, further inventories made on the submitted financial statements disclosed 2007 office supplies expense of over P127.3 million. The gasoline, oil and lubricants expenditures reached over P40.8 million.
Drugs and medicines for 2007 paled in comparison though with inventory placed at a little over P4.9 million. "Livestocks Inventory" was the least with total inventory value of P2,350.
Also verified by government auditors were Capitol's current long-term debts that included two outstanding loans with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
With interest rate of 9.5% per annum, the loan for heavy equipment purchase stands at over P78 million payable until April of 2013. The loan for the Capitol building on the other hand is paid at 8% per annum with a standing account of over P127 million payable until February of 2019.
Provincial Accountant Lyd Tupas and Governor Niel Tupas certified a "management statement" that swore to have provided "necessary internal controls to ensure that transactions are properly authorized and recorded, assets are safeguarded against unauthorized use of disposition and liabilities recognized."
COA for its part wrote, that with the exception of the unreconciled PPE and Cash-in-Bank records, the financial statements "present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Province of Iloilo as of December 31, 2007 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended."