Serious inaction

PERSONS WHO COMMIT ACTS of commission of illegal activities are liable under the Revised Penal Code and so are those who commit acts of omission.

Another law goes further as saying any government official or employee who does not act on (deny or confirm) papers or documents presented to him or her for a prescribed time limit may also become liable.

And so it happens that reportedly, the newly-minted city accountant of the local government unit of Mabalacat becomes at the center of the storm for her alleged dilly-dallying on documents, especially vouchers, causing too much delay and backlog on the city government’s transactions.

Why is this so? Why is she so meticulous to the point of virtually stopping the flow of transactions? Is it because she is so obsessed with observing COA rules and regulations?

A smooth flow of transactions ensure that smooth movement of things in the local government. And yet, this new accountant is causing too much stress and apprehension on the transacting public, not to mention the risk of departments and offices as being observed as slow pokes and inefficient.

One training provider claims that her vouchers have been presented to her office since April 2017 but until now, no word about her deficit, if any, on requirements has come out of her office. The city accountant should understand that this training service provided needs the funds to pay off obligations which have mounted because of her inaction on the two vouchers. This, despite several follow ups both by her and the PESO staff.

***** Confusion reigns on the matter of payroll of the city government employees and workers in Mabalacat. In view of the long transition period, some names were omitted from the payroll causing anxiety to some workers. The tracing of names involves a complicated matrix of time and effort. The search for their names pierces the labyrinth of bureaucratic red tape.

The City Human Resources Management Office is now handling the preparation of the payroll which is not so difficult to prepare if only the person or persons handling the job is focused and devoted to the task.

The problem would be if the one assigned to prepare the payroll is not so dedicated and focused resulting to errors and omissions.