COA: Why is ECC paying salary of Caloocan lawmaker’s aide?

The Commission on Audit ( COA) questioned why the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) has been shouldering the salary of a Caloocan City congressman’s aide, whose job involves putting up streamers and posters and painting the congressman’s name on public projects, for more than a year.

In a report released last week, state auditors said that from October 2010 to December 2011, the unnamed “janitor” received a total of P119,058 from the ECC, a government-owned and controlled corporation tasked by law to fund workers’ benefits in times of need.

The COA said the payment of salaries to a job order employee is an “irregular” expenditure that violates COA Circular 85-55A dated Sept. 8, 1985.

ECC officials explained that the contract of service of one job personnel assigned to the office Caloocan Rep. Oscar Malapitan was pursuant to a memorandum issued by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last year.

The COA report, however, stressed that the ECC and Malapitan’s office “have no operational linkage, hence, there is no basis for ECC to enter into such contract with DOLE in hiring job order personnel for the Office of the Congressman and spend its financial resources for the latter.”

State auditors said the contractual employee working for Malapitan’s office has been preparing and installing streamers and advertising materials. He also “painted the name of the congressman on his entire priority project such as schools, drainage systems, pathwalks, road construction and covered court,” they said.

The COA report said the ECC should stop paying the salary of the job order worker, adding that “all accountable offi cers who have taken part in the approval of the contract of services and payment of the transactions” should be held liable.