COA sends demand letters to NGOs
P105-M UNLIQUIDATED FUND
THE Commission on Audit (COA) has began sending demand letters to non-government organizations, barangay chairmen, as well as fiesta and Bangus Festival executive committees that received financial assistance from the Dagupan City government from the period 2010-2013 to submit their verifiable liquidation reports of public funds they received from the past city administration.
The unliquidated funds, totalling some P105 million, was extended by the administration of former Mayor Benjamin Lim from 2010 to 2013.
The COA list of NGOs and officials who were sent letters has yet to be made public, Mayor Belen Fernandez told The PUNCH in an interview.
However, City Auditor Virgilio Quinto clarified to the PUNCH that the big bulk of the demand letters are “still in process” awaiting validation.
A full list NGOs, barangay officials and fiesta and Bangus Festival committee members with unliquidated financial assistance was attached as an annex of the COA report submitted to Fernandez by Quinto two months ago
Fernandez has stopped the practice of extending assistance to NGOs including seed money for fiesta and Bangus Festival since she took over the helm of the city government, initially as acting mayor when then Mayor Lim fell ill and after she won the May 2013 election.
The mayor said financial assistance will only be extended directly to indigents in need and who requested for help from the City Assistance Service Team (CAST) for specific purposes and not to NGOs and civic clubs whose members are well off and need no assistance. —LVM
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