LINGAYEN – Graft charges have been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against the president of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) allegedly  for disbursing for himself “extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses” beyond what is allowed by law.

In a complaint filed before the anti-graft body last March 13, a copy of which was received by the PUNCH on March 15, Dr. Francisco G. Posadas, an associate professor of PSU, accused Dr. Dexter Buted, PSU president, of “blatantly violating pertinent laws on the use of public funds, an act he said that was tantamount to abuse of authority, grave misconduct and malversation of public funds.”

Posadas cited findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) that Buted had claimed reimbursements of P1 million for extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EMS) in excess of what is allowed under Section 39 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2015.

Under the GAA, Buted who holds a rank of a department undersecretary, is entitled to only P108,000 in extraordinary expenses and P72,000 in miscellaneous expenses.

In Buted’s case, COA found out that he had claimed EMS reimbursements in the amount of P1,180,000 within a 12-month period.

Posadas said Buted had already used P480,000 of his EMS over a four-month period as of September 22, 2015.and continued to claim additional reimbursements up to December.

Worse, he said Buted was able to claim reimbursements “without supporting documents, such as official receipts,” to justify the expenses.

Posadas submitted copies of the vouchers and corresponding checks covering the reimbursements from June to December 15, 2015.

In its annual audit report, COA asked Buted to “submit a detailed accounting of the excess amount” (of the reimbursed fund), but Buted allegedly failed to submit the required documents and merely issued a certification on the expenses.

According to Posadas, the PSU head allegedly managed to manipulate the releases of his EMS beyond what was allowed by law by “arbitrarily relieving” the school’s chief administrative officer who had refused to sign the reimbursement vouchers.

Stripped of his regular duties and functions, the relieved administrative officer was transferred to another post on a “floating status.”

Posadas also informed the Ombudsman that he had earlier filed a complaint with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) regarding Buted’s “arbitrary policies.”

Posadas also claimed he was one of several faculty members who were “unlawfully dropped from the rolls” for refusing to “toe-the-line.”

When asked for his reaction, Buted said he will have to wait for the notice from the Ombudsman since he is not aware of the facts of the complaint. (Leonardo Micua)

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