2010-2012 Bangus Festival funds still unliquidated
BESIDES REFUSING TO REMIT PROCEEDS
CITY Hall is bannering that all is set for the 2013 Bangus Festival but funds spent for the past two years are still unaccounted for.
The Dagupan City Accounting Office has admitted to The PUNCH that while there were financial reports submitted by past Bangus Festival Executive committees, these were returned because the documents were incomplete and no revised report has since been returned.
“We cannot forward these incomplete documents to the Commission on Audit (COA),” City Accountant Teresita Manaois said.
Manaois also explained that the liquidation that is supposed to be submitted to her office only covers the funds released by the city and not the revenues derived from other activities such as stall rentals and sponsorship and advertisements in souvenir programs.
Earlier, when The PUNCH asked City Treasurer Romelito Alcantara about the existence of a report on the proceeds from Bangus Festival and past two city fiestas, she referred The PUNCH to the Accounting Office.
Both Alcantara and Manoais said that their respective offices did not receive any income report from the holding of Bangus Festival and city fiesta in 2011 and 2012 from stall rentals, sponsorships and advertisements.
Under government audit rules, the proceeds of festivals and fiestas where public funds were used should accrue to the Local Government.
Manaois confirmed that the fund set for the Bangus Festival is P3 million under the nomenclature “financial aid” and is included in every approved budget of the city.
Councilor Alvin Coquia, chairman of the 2013 Bangus Festival, confirmed in the KBP forum last Thursday that he received a P3 million budget for this year’s festival and vowed to account for every centavo.
PENDING LIQUIDATION
Manaois said liquidation by the executive committees for the funds released by the city for the annual fiesta for the past two years remains pending.
She said the fiesta fund is much smaller than that for the Bangus Festival.
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