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Published by the Bohol Chronicle

Ombudsman-Visayas ordered Tagbilaran City Hall to release the “elusive” documents behind the P4.7 million unliquidated cash advances of city hall officials as reported in the 2007 Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA).

Asst. Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca-Santiago gave City Accountant Kurt Adolf Bungabong “subpoena duces tecum” 10 days to submit the original/and or clear and certified copies of the pertinent documents of the cash advances including the P3 million confidential expenses of City Mayor Dan Lim.

The Ombudsman asked the city accountant to release likewise the schedule of aging of advances to officers and employees as of Dec. 31, 2007 as the said unliquidated cash advances were incurred in 2007.
The case docketed as CPL-V-09-0279 at the Office of the Ombudsman (Visayas) is one of the four cases filed against the Tagbilaran City mayor.

Santiago specifically ordered the release of documents on the P3-million unliquidated cash advances of Mayor Lim, confidential expenses; Executive Asst. Arlene Karaan, P677,143.41; City Administrator Walter
Toston, P235,725.00; Eucofronio b***t, P237,701.00 and Mario Llyod Guiterrez, P575,000.00.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by Fernando G. Galan Sr. of Mansasa district, this city.
It maybe recalled that City Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso was surprised why the COA Audit Report did not contain the particulars on who did the cash advances amounting to P6.7 million. He wrote COA Manila to release the particulars as it was “unusually missing from the audit report.”

It was only after COA-Manila ordered the regional COA to release the document that the public was kept posted on the identities of the city hall officials who did the unliquidated cash advances.

City kagawad Bebin Inting, an accountant by profession, told the Chronicle that it was unusual that the particulars of the unliquidated cash advances were not found in the COA Audit Report. He recalled that in the 2006 Audit Report, the names of city hall officials involved in cash advances were contained in the report.

Meanwhile, the 2008 COA Audit Report showed a bigger unliquidated cash advances amounting P20,053,211.66 of which P7.1 million was registered as the intelligence fund of the city mayor, aside from  P1.5 million traveling cost advances.

The 2008 COA Audit Report did not likewise contain the particulars or identities of the city hall personalities involved in the unliquidated cash advances.

Vice Mayor Veloso has to write again COA Manila to release the documents of the P20-million unliquidated cash advances.

Former OIC Gov Victor de la Serna, who likewise wrote the city mayor and city accountant regarding the supporting documents of the P20-million cash advances failed to receive a single document after both said that it was already submitted to COA.

De la Serna, who wrote as a taxpayer was given a run around since the city accountant, acting on the mayor’s order categorically said the documents can be requested from the COA while COA said the documents are with the city accountant’s office.

Accountant Bungabong earlier said in a radio interview that the “public need not worry since all the original documents on the matter are in tact at his office.” However, when asked to produce them upon request of Atty. de la Serna, the accountant came with another reply denying release of the documents claiming that he submitted it to the COA.

During recent sessions of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Vice Mayor Veloso led the minority bloc to declare a “cover-up” on the investigation behind the unliquidated cash advances which is now the subject of an Ombudsman order.

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