THE Department of Interior and Local Government is set to file graft and corruption charges against former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Rizaldy Ampatuan and several others for alleged misallocation of some P2.559 billion funds for 2008 and 2009.
Rizaldy, together with his father former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., brother Andal Jr., former Datu Unsay town mayor, are detained for their alleged involvement in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
The case, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, was largely based on the findings of a special audit by the Commission on Audit that came out last March 17.
“Based on the audit findings, many ARMM officials seem to be oblivious of what transparency, integrity, public responsibility and accountability are,” Robredo said.
The CoA Special Audit Team recommended that the DILG, having supervision over autonomous regions, including the ARMM, closely monitor the ARMM operations to ensure that laws are faithfully adhered to.
The budget irregularity is one of the reasons why the elections in ARMM must be postponed, Robredo said. The region must have a clean slate before a new set of officials are elected, he added.
As per the COA findings, Robredo said there seemed to be a total disregard for budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations by the region’s officials.
The COA special audit team found that ARMM officials authorized the grant of cash advances to disbursing officers amounting to P866.513 million, which represents 80 percent of the total disbursements of the Office of the Regional Governor.
“The CoA findings state that there is a total disregard of the general audit rule that payments must be made in check. At one point, an accountable officer was holding P99.881 million in cash which may already be considered unconscionable in view of the risks involved in maintaining such amounts,” the DILG chief said.
Other CoA special audit findings include: 1) procurements/purchases not subjected to public bidding involving P650.987 million; 2) non-implementation of programs and projects funded out of Special Purpose Fund worth P153.49 million; non-documentation of MDS account and receipts and disbursements out of Trust Fund (P50.128 million Trust Fund and P2.944M MDS account not recorded in the books of ORG account; 3) unreasonable maintenance of ARMM Manila Liaison Office (MLO) P29.256 million); 4) grant of traveling allowance which is not in accordance with Executive Order No. 298 (P5.91 million exceeded claims, P1.3334 million un-liquidated); and 5) the audit of current transactions amounting to P741.002 million supported with spurious receipts and invoices.
Malacañang and its allies in Congress are pushing for the postponement of the ARMM polls from August this year to May 2013 and the appointment of officers-in-charge after the terms of the incumbent officials expire in September.
