THE Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the Cebu City Government’s holding of “extravagant” trainings and seminars in hotels and resorts last year.
In an annual audit report of the City’s 2012 operations and transactions, COA supervising auditor Delia Monte de Ramos said the City incurred a total of P11,697,693 in training expenses.
Of the total amount, expenses totaling to P5,433,185 were spent on seminars and trainings for personnel of City Hall departments in posh hotels and resorts.
“The conduct of trainings and seminars in expensive venues resulted in extravagant expenditures of P5.4 million and contributed to the significant increase of training expenses to P11.69 million for 2012,” Monte de Ramos said.
The amount the City spent for trainings and seminars last year increased by 354 percent compared to the spending in 2011, she said.
In 2011, the City spent only P2.576 million for trainings and seminars.
In 2010, the City’s training expenses amounted to only P3.727 million.
“The training expenses the City incurred in 2012 were more than the combined training expenses for calendar years 2010 and 2011, which only totaled to P6.303 million,” Monte de Ramos said.
The state auditor said COA Circular No. 85-55 dated Sept. 8, 1985 defines “extravagant expenditure” as that incurred without restraint, judiciousness and economy.
“Extravagant expenditure exceeds the bounds of propriety. These expenditures are immoderate, prodigal, lavish, luxurious, grossly excessive and injudicious,” she added.
Monte de Ramos then cited COA Circular 2012-003 dated Oct. 29, 2012.
“The said circular explicitly considers as extravagant the payment for rent of expensive halls or rooms in luxury hotels or restaurants used for meetings and seminars and other official functions, except when such hotels or restaurants are used for government-sponsored international conventions, meetings and the like,” she said.
The circular also considers as extravagant the use of government funds for the conduct of out-of-town meetings, which can be made within office premises.
In examining the City’s expenses, the state auditors said the City spent P1,400 to P3,500 per day per participant when it conducted its seminars and trainings in hotels, “posh resorts” in Mactan and in other Cebu beach resorts.
The City conducted last year 33 seminars and trainings, which were attended by 50 to 70 people.
Monte de Ramos asked why the City was holding its seminars and trainings outside City Hall despite having in-house facilities.
She considered getting hotels and resorts as venue for seminars to be a needless expense.
While hotels and resorts can only accommodate 50 to 70 people in their facilities, Monte de Ramos said, the City has a training room at the third floor of the legislative building, which can accommodate a maximum of 80 people.
The City also has a social hall on the fourth floor of the legislative building that can accommodate a maximum of 200 people.
“Evaluations show that some activities could have been done in the legislative building, which would mean that unnecessary expenses could have been avoided and would have meant greater savings for the City,” she said.
Monte de Ramos invoked Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, which provides that government resources should be safeguarded against loss or wastage.
The Human Resource and Development Office (HRDO), then headed by Evangeline Abatayo when the audit was made, told state auditors that they had no full control of all the seminars and trainings being conducted by the different departments.
Usually, the departments would only send a memorandum to HRDO if they need help for facilitators and other supplies for the training.
Sun.Star Cebu tried to get a comment from Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella but he was not yet available as of press time.
Monte de Ramos had told the City to explain the need for conducting trainings and seminars in expensive venues.
“If the reason is not tenable, then the disbursement shall be disallowed,” she said.
A disallowance means that the transaction is not approved by COA and the officials responsible for the transaction will be made to pay for the expenses incurred.
Also, COA told the City to refrain from conducting seminars and trainings in expensive hotels and resorts and other high-end venues.
COA recommended that HRDO should have control over all seminars and trainings and approval of all activities.
“We further recommend that the City exercise due prudence such that government funds are protected and conserved and that unnecessary and extravagant expenditures are prevented,” COA added.
1Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 02, 2013.
Cebu City's P11-million seminars
Cebu City's P11-M seminars ‘extravagant’ .
Go ask Mayor Rama TS I'm sure sya jud maka justify ana hilig bya kaayo ug palusot ng tauhana............
Originally Posted by elvandesantos
Seminars are really that expensive. Hiring keynote speakers are not cheap at all plus venues, reservations etc... for a whole year
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