COA flags P15.9M financial assistance

A total of P15.92 million worth of financial assistance released by the municipality of Consolacion for medical and hospitalization aid has been flagged by state auditors due to incomplete supporting documents.

- Jonnavie Villa/IHM

In its latest audit report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the assistance, charged under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), Gender and Development (GAD), and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWD) funds, was not fully supported by documents as required under Presidential Decree No. 1445.

COA stressed that under the law, “all claims against government funds must be backed by complete documentation,” otherwise, the legality and propriety of the spending cannot be fully established.

The cited sum covered various forms of aid granted to constituents, with individual assistance amounts ranging from P2,000 to as high as P110,000, depending on the type of need.

These included burial assistance ranging from P5,000 to P25,000; medication assistance from P2,000 to P100,000; hospital expense assistance from P2,000 to P110,000; and educational or capital augmentation aid of up to P30,000.

Based on subsidiary ledger records, the municipality spent P15,929,816.21 in 2024 alone for medicaland hospitalization-related aid, broken down into several fund sources.