No irregularity in amortization of bank loan – Makati official

The Makati City government on Thursday belied reports that the Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the regularity of the amortization of bank loans obtained by previous administrations from 2012 to 2016 for the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) loan for two infrastructure projects.

Makati City Administrator Claro F. Certeza issued the clarification, stressing that under the current administration of Mayor Abby Binay, Makati received from COA its first-ever unqualified (unmodified) audit opinion in 2017 citing the accuracy, completeness, and fairness of the city’s financial statements.

“COA’s audit findings were limited to recommendations as to where the loan payments should be recorded. Should the payments to Land Bank be charged to the Development Fund or the General Fund? The Makati City government squarely addressed these concerns,” Certeza explained.

“There was no question of impropriety or irregularity as in fact the city government was given a clean bill by the COA,” he said.

In its 2017 annual audit report for Makati City, COA said last year’s amortization for the LBP loan should not have been sourced from the 20 percent development fund which, under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code, should be allocated for social and economic development projects.