LMP Visayas calls on COA to assign auditors to municipalities

Tacloban City (August 25) — The League of Municipalities Visayas Island Cluster passed a resolution requesting the Commission on Audit to assign auditors to municipalities in order to facilitate faster delivery of basic services.

This was informed by Tanauan Mayor Roque Tiu who is the President of LMP Leyte Chapter, the general legal counsel of LMP and the presiding officer for the Closing Plenary of the LMP Visayas Island Cluster Conference held in Subic on August 18 to 20.

In passing said resolution, the Visayas Island mayors noted that in the recent issuance of Memo Circular by COA on selective pre-auditing of government transactions, many municipalities encountered difficulties in disbursing their local funds that resulted in the delay of transactions. Though the Mayors are elated of the re imposition of the Selective Pre-Auditing by COA as it will prevent filing of harassment cases before the Ombudsman, it somehow affected the delivery of basic services because of the delay of the audit due to lack of COA personnel.

The Mayors observed that the COA auditors assigned to municipalities only go to their assignments periodically. With the recent COA Memo Circular, the Mayors believe there is a need for COA Auditors to be in the LGUs more frequently.

This prompted the LMP Visayas Island Cluster Conference in Subic to pass a Resolution to ask COA to assign an Auditor in every Municipality or in every cluster of three municipalities provided the auditor will frequently visit the assigned municipality.

Mayor Tiu added that many of the Visayas Mayors present also observed that COA has yet to conduct orientation on the said recent COA Memo Circular.

He added that these are the same observations presented by the Luzon Island Cluster Conference which was held in July in Leyte. (PIA