BAGUIO CITY – The city government will contest the recent decision of the Cordillera office of the Commission on Audit (COA) ordering all city officials and employees of the local government to return the bonuses granted to them in 2013 considering that the same was not in accordance to existing rules and regulations relative thereto.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan ordered the city legal office to study the legal steps to be undertaken by the city government in order to question the obviously misplaced decision against the grant of bonuses to city officials and employees.
“We do not agree with the logic of the ruling. We will question the COA decision with the appropriate forum in order to vindicate city officials in granting such bonuses to city hall workers. WE did not steal the money but instead it was used by the officials and employees for productive purposes contrary to the decision,”Domogan stressed.
Earlier, the COA-CAR denied the appeal of the city government questioning a previous decision of government auditors denying the grant of bonuses in the form of one and a half month salary plus P20,000 as bonuses to city officials and employees.
The grant of additional bonuses to city officials and employees by the city government was anchored on a Memorandum Circular issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) authorizing the grant of additional incentives to State workers but giving due respect to the local autonomy of local governments in the grant of the same.
Further, the DBM circular also recognized the grant of additional bonuses to city officials and employees provided that it will not exceed the 45-55 percent ceiling earmarked for personal services expenditures.
Domogan argued auditors failed to consider the wisdom behind the issuance of the DBM circular giving due recognition to the local autonomy in the granting of added incentives to local officials and employees, saying the same should not have been issued if the aim of the government was to restrain local governments from granting added bonuses to its workers.
He assured the over 1,500-strong work force of the city government that they will get the necessary incentives prescribed under existing rules and regulations despite the negative decision of the COA-CAR against the granted bonuses to local officials and employees.
Among the legal options that are being considered by the city government is to appeal the ruling to the COA en banc, file a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals and such other remedies that are available under existing rules and regulations.
It was learned that the additional incentives granted to city officials and employees had been always granted to them every December since the 1990s but the COA never decided against it that should have stopped the release of funds for the government workers.
By Dexter A. See