THE Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Himamaylan City government in Negros Occidental for multiple financial irregularities in its 2023 audit report, including an unresolved P43.132 million gap between accounting and property records, misclassified assets, and an overstated cash balance.
One critical finding involves the unresolved discrepancy of P43.132 million between the city’s accounting and property records. This imbalance calls into question the accuracy of Himamaylan’s financial statements and suggests systemic issues in record keeping.
“The non-reconciliation of the physical inventory with the PPELC (Property, Plant and Equipment ledger cards) of the accounting unit either overstates or understates the recorded carrying amount of PPEs, thereby affecting the accuracy and reliability of the account balances,” the report read.
The audit also revealed that semi-expendable properties worth P113.429 million were erroneously classified as property, plant, and equipment (PPE). This misclassification has inflated the city’s asset valuation and distorted the true financial position.
COA noted further concerns in the city’s cash-in-bank account. A discrepancy of P13.002 million was found between the City Treasurer’s cash books and the General Ledger. Out of 13 depository bank accounts maintained by the city, only five were reconciled at year-end, undermining confidence in the reported cash balance.
“The unreconciled balances of Cash in Bank accounts in the cashbook and general ledger due to unadjusted reconciling items render the existence of the reported balance unreliable,” the audit agency said.
Further, the audit highlighted significant underutilization of disaster funds. Although Himamaylan was allocated P37.6 million for its Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF), only P28.28 million was expended, leaving over P9.31 million unutilized. The disaster-related capital outlay budget was similarly underspent, with only P10.46 million used out of an allocated P14.3 million.
COA, likewise, cited the city’s lack of an LDRRMF Investment Plan, saying this “not only impedes our ability to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the plan’s implementation, but it also hinders the conduct of a comprehensive evaluation of the associated expenditures charged against the fund, if said expenditures were included in the plan and the validity of said charges.”
Other issues flagged in the report include the delayed submission of cash advance vouchers for Confidential Funds totalling P10.8 million, improper evaluations of projects worth P13.9 million, and undocumented disbursements for Health Emergency Allowance payments amounting to P29.136 million. Moreover, only 23 of 39 recommendations from previous audits have been implemented, leaving 16 issues unresolved.
City officials have pledged to reconcile financial records, adjust cash balances, and optimize the use of allocated funds.