ANDAWI, TOP FINANCIAL MANAGER!

City Treasurer Marcelino Andawi is once again recognized as the Top Financial Manager (Region III) for the year 2007. This is his second time to win the Commission on Audit (COA) certified award from the Department of Finance.

Mayor James ‘Bong’ Gordon Jr. commended Andawi at the City Employees’ flag raising ceremony on December 22, 2008 for his latest achievement.

“I’d like to share this award because this does not only refer to the treasurer and the city treasurer’s office but also to all the revenue generating centers and the finance committee for taking care of our disbursements,” said Andawi. “Also to the barangay captains for distributing the list of delinquencies.”

Meanwhile, the city government is encouraging land owners to pay their Real Property Taxes on time to avoid penalties or having their properties confiscated.

“Ang programa po ng treasury ay mayroon pa ring 20 percent discount para sa Real Property Taxes,” Andawi reminded.

The twenty percent (20%) discount is available for those who will pay their RPT in full before and until the first week of January 2009.

Mayor James ‘Bong’ Gordon Jr. commending City Treasurer Marcelino Andawi for his win as the Top Financial Manager in Region III. Also in the photo are Vice Governor and Olongapo First Lady Anne Marie Gordon, Vice Mayor Cynthia Cajudo, and City Councilors Ellen Dabu, Rodel Cerezo and Elmo Aquino.

PAO/Don

Cebu City tops liabilities list, Olongapo at #8 with P1.402Billion

ALTHOUGH the Cebu City Government has the biggest liabilities among all cities in the country, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said this was not a cause for worry, since the amount represents an investment that could earn billions more.

The Commission on Audit (COA), in its report for fiscal year 2007, listed Cebu City as having the biggest total liabilities among all cities, amounting to P5.739 billion.

The bulk of the amount was incurred in the 295-hectare reclamation project known as the South Road Properties (SRP), financed through a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Emma Villarete, assistant city treasurer, told Sun.Star Cebu that after the Aug. 20 payment, the City was left with a 10.193-billion yen loan. Computed using the Oct. 31 exchange rate (Y1=$0.010148, $1=P48.94), the loan amounts to $103.44 million, or P5.062 billion.

The figures frequently change, depending on the exchange rate. The City pays for its foreign loan every February and August.

P663M in 2009

For 2009, the executive department has asked for a P663.45-million allocation, included in the proposed P2.62-billion annual budget, to pay for the SRP loan.

Villarete said the City is paying 2.3 percent interest for the consultancy component and 2.7 percent interest for the civil works component of its JBIC loan.

But the Land Bank of the Philippines, acting as conduit institution, also charges 2 percent as overhead so that the total consultancy interest charge is 4.3 percent and the civil works interest charge is 4.7 percent.

The COA listed Cebu City as having the biggest debt (P5.739 billion) among the cities, followed by Manila (P3.71 billion), Caloocan (P2.923 billion), Quezon (P2.413 billion), Makati (P2.082 billion), Parañaque (P1.931 billion), Pasay (P1.569 billion), Olongapo (P1.402 billion), Mandaluyong (P1.371 billion), and Davao (P1.244 billion).

But in a separate interview, Fernandez said the City could earn at least P30 billion from the sale of the SRP if it offers the lot at P10,000 per square meter.

“Ang nakaayo aning gobyerno, makakwarta pa siya sa sale sa yuta, makakwarta pa gyud siya sa gamit sa yuta tungod sa (Government will earn not only from the sale of the land, but also from) business taxes, jobs created, and a lot of things,” he said.

Assets

Among others, the City is negotiating with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), which wants to buy a 10-hectare lot at the SRP for P2 billion, and to develop 40 hectares in a joint venture agreement with the City.

The City has already accepted the unsolicited proposal of FLI.

The agreement will only be finalized, however, once it goes through the Swiss challenge and the contract is approved by the City Council and signed by the mayor.

The COA also reported that Cebu City ranks seventh among cities with the biggest current assets, seventh among local government units (LGUs) with substantial amounts of cash in bank, and fifth among cities with the biggest equity.

The City also ranks seventh among LGUs with the highest gross income, and the same ranking among LGUs with the highest share of the Internal Revenue Allotment.

While Cebu City spent P1.733 billion last year, ranking ninth among all LGUs, it ranked fifth, with P711 million, among LGUs with the biggest net income.

Net effect

In terms of net income, Cebu City even overtook Cebu Province, which earned P314.49 million last year.

Cebu Province has a total equity of P15.549 billion, however, while Cebu City only has P5.177 billion.

(COA published its findings as advertisements in Friday’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)

On reports that Japan has reduced its interest rates to three percent from five percent the other day to spur economic growth, Fernandez said it remains to be seen if this will have an impact on the City’s foreign loan.

“The next payment is in February (2009) so we will see by then if that has a good effect on our loans. But that is good news,” he said.

Villarete said it remains to be seen if Japan’s move will have an effect on the City’s JBIC loan, because the contracted loan interest is even lower than three percent. By Rene H. Martel - Sun.Star Staff Reporter

Audit of 2 Subic-based oil companies sought

By. Paolo Romero – Philippine Star

The President Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) has requested the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to conduct an audit of two Subic-based controversial oil companies that were earlier caught smuggling billions of pesos worth of petroleum and other fuel products.

PASG chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar asked to Audit Unioil and its sister company Oilink to find out if they have enough stocks of oil to cover their unpaid customs duties and taxes amounting to P2.7 billion.

He said he made the request in preparation for the possible filing of appropriate charges against the two oil companies if they failed to settle their obligations.

“I just want to make sure these firms would not be able to short-change the development. Last year, we found out that Oilink was importing oil without paying the corresponding Customs duties and taxes.”

“When it was grounded, it put up Unioil for reasons which are not hard to deduce. And now they are at it again. PASG will definitely not allow anyone to just simplify deceive the government of billions of taxes,” Villar said.

In his letters of request to COA Chairman Reynaldo Villar and BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV dated Oct.22, 2008, Villar cited the need for auditing of the two companies due to the temporary closure of their depot in Mariveles, Bataan pursuant to the provision of the Traffic and Customs Code of the Philippines, Section 1508.

PASG closed the depot after it found out that Unioil has been siphoning off the grounded oil stocks of Oilink charged last year for not paying billions of pesos worth of taxes and duties for its oil importations.

The closure has again placed Villar at loggerheads with officials and stockholders of Unioil and Oilink. Complicating matters is the move of the BoC to declare the closure as illegal, “raising doubts on the BoC’s sincerity in eradicating big-time smuggling that tolls heavily on the national coffers,” he said.

He explained the request for audit is in the best interest of the two companies as this may result in the lifting of the orders for them to temporarily stop withdrawing oil from their depot in Mariveles.” Pending investigation and audit by COA and BIR.”

The investigation and audit are essential to protect the interest of the government as Customs collectors in Bataan discovered the huge amount of taxes and duties Oilink should have paid.

OLONGAPO’S NEW CITY AUDITOR

Mayor James “Bong” Gordon formally introduced Thelma Santiago Timbol as the new City Auditor of the Commission on Audit (COA), Olongapo City on August 19, 2008 at the Rizal Triangle Multi-Purpose Center.

Timbol is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and graduated cum laude with a degree on BS Commerce at St. Louis University in Baguio.

She was previously a State Auditor IV and a Team Leader of Sub-Cluster II consisted by Olongapo City, Masinloc, Palauig, San Antonio and Hermosa Bataan. She has been working for the government for over twenty three (23) years already since she started as State Auditing Examineer III in COA on 1984.

She also served in the Provincial Auditor’s Office as State Auditor II from 1991 until 1994 and as State Auditor III from 1994-2008.

Because of the numerous trainings and seminars she attended, such as ‘Fraud Investigation and Legal Evidence’, ‘Seminar on Risk-Based Audit’ and ‘Update on New Government Accounting System’, she was able to sharpen her skills as an auditor.

Some of the tasks accomplished by COA are annual audit reports, interim reports, confidential reports and audit observation memorandum.

“Mahalaga sa amin ang mga documents na isinusumite ng iba’t-ibang departamenmto kasi dito kami nagbi-base when it comes sa aming mga reports,” Timbol explained.

“Sa pamamagitan nito makagagawa tayo ng recommendations at remarks patungkol sa paraan ng paggamit ng pinansyal na aspeto ng lokal na gobyerno,” Timbol added.

Her father, who was an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), worked as a laborer in several countries overseas including Guam and Kuwait. All of his children graduated as professionals.

“Dugo at pawis ang pinhunan ng aking ama para kami ay makapagtapos kaya’t hindi ako naniniwala sa easy money,” Timbol said.

Timbol resides in Brgy. Bato, Palauig, Zambales with her husband and two children. She was born on November 7, 1962.

“Ipinagkatiwala ng mamamayang Filipino sa COA ang tungkulin na magsasagawa ng independent audits sa aspektong pinansyal ng ating gobyerno,” said Timbol.

“Isa itong malaking reponsibilidad na magpro-promote ng transparency at effectiveness pagdating sa government operations,” Timbol added.

“Handa akong tanggapin ang hamon na ito,” Timbol concluded.

Mayor James “Bong” Gordon, Jr. formally introduced Thelma S. Timbol as the new City Auditor of the Commission on Audit (COA) Olongapo office last August 19 during the Flag Raising Ceremony at Rizal Triangle Multi-Purpose Center.

PAO/Don