COA says PCO overpaid P1 million in terminal leave benefits

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) overpaid its separated employees for terminal leave benefits by over P1 million in 2022, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

In a statement, the PCO said over P800,000 have been refunded and deposited with the Bureau of Treasury.

In its annual audit report on the PCO, state auditors said the overpayment of terminal leave benefits to separated employees reached P1,020,711.26 due to non-deduction of forfeited mandatory/forced leave caused by negligence of the PCO Human Resource Development Division (HRDD).

Such action, COA said, violates Section 25 (b) of Rule 16 of the Omnibus Rules on Leave.

In addition, COA said PCO made payments reaching P25,752,437.21 which were not supported with complete documents, contrary to Sections 5.13 and 5.14 of COA Circular No. 2012-001 dated June 14, 2012.

“Verification of the Leave Cards of the separated officials and employees submitted by the HRDD revealed that there were no deductions of the annual forfeited mandatory/forced leave,” COA said.

“It can be gleaned from Leave Cards that the five days annual forfeited mandatory/force leave were not deducted from the vacation leave credit in violation of the Omnibus Rules on Leave, resulting in the overpayment of terminal leave benefits totaling to P1,020,711.26 as of December 31, 2022,” COA said.

COA said at least 44 employees received overpayment of terminal leave benefits, ranging from P3,500 to P90,000 worth of overpayment.

The names of the PCO employees involved were not revealed, but they were identified by numbers.

Employee 26 scored the biggest overpayment with at least P90,000, followed by Employee 34 who got at least P72,000. Employee 33 ranked third with at least P48,000.

COA also said its team requested from the PCO HRDD the Application of Leave of the officials and employees last January 11, 2023, and that only a quarter of the requested document was provided to this day.

“Interview with the officers and employees of PCO revealed that were no proper review made by the HRDD before certifying the leave credits for payment of the

terminal leave benefit. The Accounting Division only relied on the certified leave credit before disbursements were made,” COA said.

“The non-verification and review of the leave credit constitute an act of negligence which had caused significant loss from government resources totaling P1,020,711.26 or overpayment of terminal leave benefits,” COA added.

As a public servant, COA said the performance of duties should be done with the utmost degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence, and skill in order not to hamper the operations of the government agencies or cause wastage of government funds, as well as, extend better services for the Filipino people.

“We believed that the Officers of PCO, by affixing their signature even without reviewing the laws, rules, and regulations, and properly validating and examining the sufficiency of the supporting documents, acted negligently and not in good faith,” state auditors added.

In a statement, the PCO said demand letters were issued to the concerned separated employees requiring them to refund the overpaid terminal leave benefits.

The PCO also said a review of the approved terminal leave benefits and submission of the incomplete requirements was conducted.

Due to these measures, the PCO said it has already claimed the refund of the overpaid terminal leave benefits from separated personnel amounting to P824,625.37, which was already deposited to the Bureau of Treasury.

Meanwhile, the remaining seven personnel committed to refund the remaining amount of P203,956.96.

Further, the Human Resource Development Division has already submitted the Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of the separated officials and employees to COA.

The Legal Division Chief has also noted in the clearance forms of the separated officials and personnel that they had no pending administrative cases nor involvement in any pending investigations.

The PCO vowed that it remains committed to ensuring that all internal processes and procedures are compliant with existing and applicable rules and regulations. —NB, GMA Integrated News