15.6 The Municipality's inability to remit the unutilized funds to the National Treasury
deprived the National Government of the opportunity to use these funds for
priority projects, programs, and activities.
15.7 We recommended and the Municipal Accountant agreed to provide the
Municipal Treasurer with the records of unutilized funds under the BGCM
and financial assistance for Typhoon Odette victims, so that the latter can
return these funds to the National Treasury in accordance with DBM LBC
No. 125 dated April 7, 2020, and DBM LBC No. 141 dated December 28,
2021.
Travel Expenses’ compliance with COA Circular No. 2005-003 and EO No. 77
16. The legitimacy and appropriateness of the travel expenses, totaling ₱1,028,490.39,
are questionable due to the absence of required airline boarding passes and excessive
claims for Daily Travel Expense (DTE) that contravened the guidelines outline in
COA Circular No. 2005-003, dated September 22, 2005, and Executive Order No. 77
of the President of the Philippines.
16.1 COA Circular No. 2005-003, dated September 22, 2005, mandates that a boarding
pass is required to substantiate claims for transportation expenses incurred from
air travel. The boarding pass serves as proof that the passenger boarded the flight
on the date indicated in the traveler’s itinerary.
16.2 Furthermore, EO No. 77, issued by the President of the Philippines on March 15,
2019, provides guidelines and prescribes the rates and allowances for official
local and foreign travels. According to Section 5(b) of the EO, the maximum DTE
of government personnel traveling beyond the a 50-kilometer radius from their
permanent official station, regardless of rank and position, is ₱2,200.00 if the
destination is at the National Capital Region (NCR), and ₱1,500.00 if the
destination is in Region V.
16.3 Post-audit of Disbursement Voucher (DV) Nos. 100-24-10-1716 and 100-24-12-
2035 revealed that claims for travel expenses totaling ₱1,028,490.39, incurred
between January and August 2024, were not supported by airline boarding passes.
A review of the supporting documents showed that for all 18 instances of air
travel, no boarding passes were submitted. Furthermore, these trips, amounting
to ₱476,524.84, included airline transportation expenses of ₱347,761.89, which
were incurred by individuals who are not employees of the Municipality.
16.4 Moreover, claims for Daily Travel Expenses (DTE) from January to August 2024
totaled ₱295,623.55, which exceeded the allowable amount by ₱237,323.55. Our
computation indicates that the maximum allowable DTE for these travels should
only be ₱58,300 (Annex “A”).
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