Secretary to the Mayor Vicente Petierre III yesterday said they will appeal the notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit involving the P4.9 million construction of the perimeter road at the Bacolod City Government Center.

He, however, said the disallowance does not mean that the officials or persons named have to refund the amount.

Neither did COA say that that they have deposited the amount to “their personal accounts,” he added.

Petierre also said that the notice of disallowance is just a normal process and it does not necessarily follow that all the officials named in the Audit report will pay the amount. “We can still appeal the notice of disallowance within six months,” he said.

The P4.9 million covered the salaries and wages of the workers who constructed the perimeter road at the government center, Petierre said, adding that, from the beginning, there was no double funding involved.

Petierre noted that even the COA report showed that the money was spent on the payroll of the workers for the construction of the perimeter road and did not go to the pockets of the employees of the city government.

He said other local governments have also been issued notice of disallowance just like the city, but the COA did not recommend the filing of charges against the officials or persons named to be liable for the disbursement of the funds.

Those named by COA include Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Budget Officer Luzviminda Treyes, MASO officer-in-charge Ricardo Dahil-Dahil, City Accountant Eduardo Ravena, City Treasurer Annabelle Badajos, Petierre, Administrative Officers Stela Rose Rayos and Lorenza Uy, Budget Officer Esther Bais, former Secretaries to the Mayor Goldwin Nifras and Rogelio Balo, engineers Teresita Guadalupe and Belly Aguillon, and members of the Bids and Awards Committee.

Petierre said that all the persons issued notices of disallowance were those who signed the payroll of the workers.

Granting that the COA findings on the perimeter road are correct, the recommendation of COA to the city is for it to inform Hilmarcs Construction Corp. of the matter and collect the amount of P4.9 million spent by the city on the project, Petierre said.

If their appeal on the notice of disallowance is denied, the city will collect the amount from the contractor, he said.

Petierre assured that no one from the city government took advantage of the money since this was paid as salaries and wages of the workers who constructed the perimeter road.*CGS

back to top