COA flags DOJ fund transfers worth P621 million

by Dane Angelo Enerio
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged as anomalous several undocumented fund transfers, payrolls, and unauthorized bank accounts in its 2017 audit report on the Department of Justice (DoJ.)
“[W]e noted that there were transfer of funds (amounting to P621,646,352.48) where no corresponding payments were made while there were also payments (amounting to P305,390,659.08) with no corresponding transfer of funds,” read the COA report which was released on Thursday, May 24.
It added: “[T]here were transfer of funds which amount did not correspond to the payments made.”
Among its many comments and observations, the COA auditors flagged as anomalous the several Journal Entry Vouchers (JEV) that were not supported by necessary supporting documents.
The four JEVs amounting to P27,680,253.40 were all dated March 1, 2018.
At that time, lawyer Vitaliano N. Aguirre II was still the head of the department before resigning and being replaced by his successor, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, on April 5.
The auditors also flagged as anomalous the existence of three unauthorized bank accounts holding a combined amount of P65,685,647.45.
COA in its report recommended the money to be transferred or deposited to the National Treasury.
They noted, “out of the 34 prior years’ audit recommendations, 18 were fully implemented; 13 were partially implemented, while three were not implemented.”
When sought for comment, Mr. Guevarra told BusinessWorld in a text message he “will look into these matters and comment a little later.”