THE Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said Monday it had been enforcing the disallowances made by the Commission on Audit following its report that it submitted fake attendance records for its conferences, meetings and forums in 2014.
That means the agency would be returning the money it was not allowed to spend.
“We are already enforcing the disallowances made by the Commission on Audit from past rulings,” Opapp Executive Director Luisito Montalbo said.
“If and when CoA issues future disallowances, we will do nothing less.”
Montalbo said his agency “seriously takes into consideration all reports given to us by the CoA and immediately acts upon all observations and recommendations of our resident auditor.”
“What came out of the 2014 CoA report are observations and recommendations made on OPAPP’s financial transactions. Process-wise, these are still subject to verifications and clarifications by the agency in continuing consultation with the CoA,” Montalbo said.
“For example, this year we are enforcing a return of funds as per final ruling on a disallowance rendered by CoA.
“So in the case of the observations in the 2014 COA report, such as those regarding attendance sheets and vehicle rentals, the same process of investigations, clarifications and verifications as appropriate management actions will be followed before any final ruling is rendered by CoA.”
The commission said the signatures that appeared on the documents to support OPAPP’s expenses were “doubtful.”
“In a number of attendance sheets, different names were printed but the handwriting and strokes were similar,” said the CoA report posted on its website.
Montalbo said it would be premature for them to further comment on the CoA report at this time considering the auditing process was not yet completed.
“We comply with the processes laid out by CoA,” Montalbo said, adding that in the course of the government audit process, the resident auditor assigned to an agency issues Audit Observation Memorandums throughout the year.
Management actions on these observations and recommendations are thereafter discussed with the resident auditor during an exit conference that happens before a CoA report is written and released at the end of the year.
“That is why OPAPP is saying that we will appeal because some of the actions that we have already taken based on the recommendations of the AOMs were not considered in the audit report,” Montalbo said.