ILOILO – The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Iloilo Provincial Government for failing to submit cash advance vouchers for its ₱10 million confidential fund within the required period and for not using sealed envelopes during submission.
According to the Joint Circular No. 2015-01 issued by the COA, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Governance Commission for GOCCs, and the Department of National Defense (DND), agencies must submit cash advance vouchers within seven days after the check is released. The submission should include supporting documents and be delivered in a sealed envelope by the Agency Accountant or an authorized representative to the COA Audit Team Leader.
For Calendar Year 2023, the Iloilo Provincial Government was allocated ₱20 million for confidential expenses.
COA reported that while the required supporting documents for the cash advance vouchers were complete, the vouchers were submitted in an unsealed envelope and grouped with other disbursement vouchers. The COA noted that the vouchers were turned over 40 calendar days after the check was released, violating the stipulated timeframe.
In response, the Provincial Accountant admitted to having overlooked the circular’s requirements, mistakenly believing that only the liquidation documents submitted to the COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Unit needed to be sealed.
However, the cash advance vouchers for the fourth quarter of 2023 were submitted within the required period and in a sealed envelope.
The COA recommended, and the Provincial Accountant agreed, that moving forward, all cash advance vouchers for confidential funds and supporting documents must be submitted in sealed envelopes within seven days after the check’s release.
