DND claims unclosed bank accounts are for ongoing projects

The Department of National Defense (DND) said it was having difficulties closing bank accounts under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which state auditors had flagged for being unauthorized.

In a statement released Sunday, the DND said it has already released guidelines to the AFP regarding the unclosed bank accounts, following the Commission on Audit (COA) report.

“The DND-AFP has been processing the closure of these accounts in adherence to the COA guidelines,” the statement read.

“However, some accounts cannot be closed outright as these are the depository accounts for our current projects, most of which are multi-year obligations,” it added.

The COA, in its 2020 annual audit report on the AFP, found that the agency failed to close 20 unauthorized bank accounts with a cumulative balance of P1.813 billion.

The report found that there were three unauthorized bank accounts under the AFP Modernization Act Trust Fund - Central office (AFPMATF) with balances worth P1.346 billion; eight accounts under the AFP Educational Benefit System Office worth P347.483 million; two accounts under the AFP Real Estate Office worth P84.362 million; and seven accounts under the GHQ Central Officer worth P37.744 million.

State auditors in the report noted that under the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA), all agencies are mandated to shut accounts and forward the balances back to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) when there is no legal basis for their creation.

“We have since informed both the DOF and the COA on the situation. Further, future DND-AFP projects will be henceforth placed in the remaining authorized accounts,” the DND said. — DVM, GMA News