CITY TRIES WAYS TO GIVE PARDO WORKERS’ PAY
Pardo officials want to file case vs. treasurer Christopher Idul, who is reportedly missing with the barangay funds
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is set to draft a memorandum directing all barangays to notify him if they have not received their salaries within 15 days from the release date.
This, after at least 80 officials and personnel of Barangay Poblacion Pardo did not receive three months worth of salaries after their village treasurer Christopher Idul reportedly went missing since last Nov. 23.
“If COA will allow it, I am willing to give an advance (to cover Poblacion Pardo workers’ salaries). If COA says it’s okay, I will give. But the memo, it’s so that they can notify me. It doesn’t mean we’ll give something. I just want to know. But it’s the job of the barangay captain. She (Lim) should be held responsible,” he said.
The head of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) in Cebu City yesterday said the group’s accountants are assisting Barangay Pardo in the investigation of its missing treasurer.
ABC President Phillip Zafra, also the barangay captain of Tisa, Cebu City, said personnel of the Commission on Audit (COA) are too busy to examine the records pertaining to the barangay funds.
CEBU CITY MAYOR TOMAS OSMEÑA
“I hope that with what happened to Pardo, Cebu City, the COA will now focus on examining how barangay funds are being spent,” Zafra said.
He said the council of any barangay, with the concurrence of the barangay captain, has the power to hire and fire barangay treasurers.
Documents covering the spending of funds must be signed by the treasurer and the captain and shall be regularly audited by COA.
He also observed that bookkeepers are maintaining several barangays and are not organic employees of any barangay. He said the bookkeeper must sign on every document involving funds, to establish accountability.
Next move
In an interview with SunStar Cebu, Poblacion Pardo Councilwoman Manolita “Litang” Abarquez said she and her colleagues in the barangay council will consult with the Department of Interior and Local Government 7 on what legal remedies they could take.
“Kailangan gyud manubag ang dapat manubag. Naa pud baya mi mga pamilya na gibuhi intawn (People should be held accountable. We have families to feed). We want to know what charges we can file against Idul and those that will also be held liable,” she said.
Abarquez said Barangay Captain Altea Lim told them she will also be filing charges against Idul once the evidences are gathered.
“Naa gyud mi pagduda na naa gyuy funds nga gidagan ni Idul. Gi- trace pa na hangtod karun (We suspected that he ran away with some funds. We’re still trying to trace it until now). Supposedly, the daily collections should be immediately deposited at the end of the day. We have yet to know since when did he stop depositing the money,” she added.
The councilwoman lamented that Idul rarely attended the council sessions and the last time she saw him in person was two weeks before he was reported missing. He was also not present during their session last Nov. 30.
They were not notified about the treasurer’s absence, even by Lim who allegedly received an apology letter through text message from Idul last Nov. 23.
“She told us about the issue during our special session last Dec. 4, but she never gave us a heads-up during our last session for November. Why though? If she told us earlier, we could have worked on the search sooner,” Abarquez said.
After discussing the issue, the officials went to the Commission on Audit (COA) 7 to raise their concerns and request for a detailed report of their unsettled and non-deposited amounts.
Abarquez said that last October they received a suspension order from COA after Idul failed to submit the copies of the certification of the punong barangay. It was reportedly their eighth suspension order since 2015 due to the same error.
It was also found that around P172,190 of funds were not deposited from January to August 2017.
Lim also received a package from Idul all the way from Koronadal City containing three keys to a vault, certifications, 15 canceled checks and codes assigned to the punong barangay.
Abarquez said some personnel have asked the officials to just appoint a replacement for Idul, but they declined.
She pointed out that as per state auditor Daisy Bercede’s advise, a new treasurer will not guarantee lifting their suspension, unless they are able to comply with the needed documents. /
If COA will allow it, I am willing to give an advance (to cover Poblacion Pardo salaries). If COA says it’s okay, we will give. But the memo, it’s so that they can notify me. It doesn’t mean we’ll give something. I just want to know. But it’s the job of the barangay captain. She (Lim) should be held responsible.