Get rid of dilapidated vehicles, COA tells CHR

The Commission on Audit (COA) has urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to start using its newly-purchased service vehicles and study disposing those deemed "beyond economical repair."

According to its 2018 annual audit report, the COA said the CHR already spent more than P4.6 million over the last four years for the maintenance and repair of 23 outmoded and fully depreciated motor vehicles in its inventory.

"Verification of the property and accounting records showed that the CHR had 23 motor vehicles that underwent frequent repairs, of which, seven by used by the CHR Central Office and 16 by the CHR Regional Offices, acquired from 1988 to 2010," the COA said.

"Remarkably, these vehicles are all fully depreciated as at December 31, 2018," it added.

The COA said 14 out of the 23 vehicles have undergone repairs over the 30 percent allowable limit stated in COA Circular No. 2012-003.

The cost of repairs for 2018 even reached P1.59 million, or 66 percent higher that the P960,000 spent the previous year, according to COA.

The oldest vehicle of the CHR is a 31-year-old Pinoy II M-88 registered in its Region 13 office that was purchased for P196,595, but the COA said repairs for the vehicle already reached P250,866.

"The management opted to continue using outmoded vehicles because these are their means of transportation necessary in their operation for the past four years. This is despite of the significant number of vehicle acquisition in 2018," the commission said.

State auditors said the CHR may have failed to create a comprehensive monitoring of the repair and maintenance of its vehicles, therefore affecting the finances of the constitutional commission.

The COA thus directed the CHR to prioritize the procurement of new vehicles, revisit its policy on repairs, and sanction personnel who continue to use the outmoded vehicles.

The CHR told auditors during the exit conference that the commissioner in charge of administration and finance will study if the outmoded vehicles are due for disposal.—LDF, GMA News