Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON AUDIT
CGAS Cluster 5B – Agriculture and Natural Resources, Team R5-06
Office of the Audit Team Leader
National Irrigation Administration Regional Irrigation Office No. V
Panganiban Drive, Naga City

AOM No. 2023-02 (2022) RIO V

Date: January 17, 2023

AUDIT OBSERVATION MEMORANDUM (AOM)

For: Engr. ROBERTO J. DELA CRUZ

Acting Regional Manager
NIA Regional Irrigation Office No. V
Panganiban Drive, Naga City

Attention: Engr. DIOGEMMA C. RODRIGUEZ

Acting Manager - EOD
BAC Chairperson

Mr. JOSEPH A. REBADULLA

Acting Manager - AFD
Regional Accountant

Subject: Attendance to non-GPPB-accredited/recognized seminar on procurement

We have post audited the transactions of NIA RIO V for CY 2022 and
observed the following deficiencies:

1. Attendance of three (3) RIO personnel to a

1
non-GPPB-accredited/recognized seminar , contrary to GPPB Circular No.
07-2018 and Section 16 of the 2016 RIRR of RA No. 9184, resulted in (a)
irregular expenditures totaling ₱85,836.36 and (b) lack of assurance that
the information gained by these personnel are correct and updated.

2. The Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) is the collegial body

mandated to establish training programs that will develop the capability of the
Bids and Awards Committees (BACs), BAC Secretariats, Technical Working
Groups (TWGs), and the Procurement Units of Procuring Entities in order to
professionalize the same pursuant to Section 16 of the 2016 Revised
Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184,
which provides that (to quote):

The HoPE shall ensure that the BAC, its Secretariat and TWG
members, including other relevant procurement personnel are
sent to attend procurement training or capacity development

1
- Seminar on Procurement Planning and PPMP/APP Preparation conducted by SCCE Training Center

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 program. Within six (6) months upon designation, the BAC, its
Secretariat and TWG members should have satisfactorily
completed such training or program conducted, authorized or
accredited by the GPPB through its Technical Support Office.
(underscoring ours)

3. In order to fulfill this mandate, GPPB Circular No. 07-2018 dated

September 4, 2018 was issued to (a) provide guidance on the conditions for the
recognition of procurement trainings or capacity development activities (CDAs)
of government institutions and (b) confer authority to the existing pool of
trainers of the GPPB-TSO to conduct procurement trainings. 2

4. As regards the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), there is no written

internal policy on trainings or CDAs of procurement personnel according to the
Administrative and Finance Section of Region 5. However, they adhere to the
provisions of Section 16, supra, as shown in the various memoranda issued
reconstituting the BAC of different IMOs, wherein the NIA Administrator, in his
approval, specifically quoted the aforementioned rules and reminded
observance thereof.

5. Review of the CY 2022 transactions of the RIO disclosed that the

following personnel were directed to attend the Seminar on Procurement
Planning and Preparation of PPMP and APP on November 15-18, 2022 at
Cebu City, to wit:

Name Position/Designation
June Ivy C. Mendez Senior Engineer A/Head, BAC
Secretariat
Eden Kris S. Cuya Hydrologist/Member, BAC Secretariat
Almera C. Cariaga Sr. Accounting Processor A

6. Related Office Memorandum was issued by then Acting Regional

Manager Lauro E. Ballesteros on October 11, 2022 upon invitation by SCCE
Training Center. According to the invitation, this training center is a non-
government training institution with business permit registered in Las Piñas
City. Topics for discussion in the four-day seminar included the following:

 Overview and Definition of Procurement Planning

 Procurement Planning and Budget Linkage
 Project Procurement Management Plan (PPMP)
 Overview on the Process of Determining the ABC and Specifications
Writing
 Annual Procurement Plan (APP)
 APP vis-à-vis APP for Common-Use Supplies and Equipment
 Conduct of Early Procurement Activities
 Simplified Procedure for the Submission and Posting of the APP
 Workshop on the Preparation of PPMP and APP, including tips on
how to consolidate the PPMPs into an APP
2
Section 1 GPPB Circular No. 07-2018

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  Updating of the PPMP & APP
7. Research showed that, aside from webinars, the SCCE Training Center
conducts various face-to-face seminars on RA No. 9184 in the different parts of
the country all year round. There are trainings/seminars conducted in Legazpi
City, Tagaytay, Baguio City, Cebu City, Laoag, and Puerto Princesa, Palawan,
among others. In the advertisement posted in their official Facebook page, they
claim that their resource persons (RPs) are from the GPPB Pool of Trainers.
However, based on the response received from the GPPB-TSO, thru the
Capacity Development Division, on the query regarding the authority of SCCE,
the GPPB had categorically stated that (a) it does not have any accredited
partners/organizations/institutions for the conduct of any procurement trainings
and (b) there was no request from SCCE for GPPB-accredited resource
person/s (RPs) received or processed by their Office (copy of the email
conversation is in Annex A).

8. The GPPB only recognizes the trainings conducted and organized by

private organizations when the RPs for procurement-related topics are from
GPPB-TSO pool of recognized trainers.3 Additionally, even
GPPB-accredited/recognized trainers are prohibited from accepting training
requests from agencies and private organizations without proper endorsement
from GPPB-TSO.4

9. Based on the foregoing conditions, it is clear that the seminar attended

by the RIO personnel did not conform with the rules; hence, it resulted in
irregular expenditures totaling ₱85,836.36 (see breakdown below) and gave no
assurance that the information gained by these personnel are correct and
updated.

Name Expenses Incurred

JEV Number Particulars Amount Total
June Ivy C. Mendez 2022-10-1464 Registration Fee 8,000.00
2022-12-1391 DTE (Nov. 14-20, 2022) 9,180.00
Transportation Expense 2,000.00
2022-10-1139 Airfare 9,432.12 28,612.12
Eden Kris S. Cuya 2022-10-1464 Registration Fee 8,000.00
2022-12-1390 DTE (Nov. 14-20, 2022) 9,180.00
Transportation Expense 2,000.00
2022-10-1139 Airfare 9,432.12 28,612.12
Almera C. Cariaga 2022-10-1464 Registration Fee 8,000.00
2022-12-1389 DTE (Nov. 14-20, 2022) 9,180.00
Transportation Expense 2,000.00
2022-10-1139 Airfare 9,432.12 28,612.12
TOTAL 85,836.36

3
Section 4.1.3 GPPB Circular No. 07-2018
4
Section 8.4.2.2 GPPB Circular No. 07-2018

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10. On the other hand, even assuming that the SCCE was authorized to
conduct procurement trainings, the Agency could still not escape liability for
possible excessive expenditures due to the following deficiencies:

10.1 Non-consideration/observance of better alternative and more economical

ways to capacitate its procurement officers, such as: letting them attend
either a webinar or an actual seminar in nearby areas like Legazpi City or
Tagaytay, or organizing a regionwide in-house training in NIA RO V with
local resource persons endorsed and accredited by the GPPB-TSO, to
save on travel and training expenses; and

10.2 Improper grant of transportation expense allowance (TEA) to cover the

cost of daily commute within Cebu City, on top of the allowance for
incidental expenses (20% of DTE5) already given under Section 5 (c) of
Executive Order (EO) No. 77.

Review of the liquidation reports submitted by the participants disclosed

that this additional TEA, pegged at ₱2,000.00 each, was supported by taxi
meter receipts (TMRs) and/or reimbursement expense receipts (RERs)
drawn individually by the participants to cover the cost of their daily
commute to and from the temporary hotel residence to the seminar venue
in Cebu City (please see Annex B for details), thereby resulting in excess
DTE totaling to ₱6,000.00.

Please note that the 20% incidental expenses being allowed by EO No.
77 is already inclusive of the cost of local or inland transportation and
reasonable miscellaneous expenses at the place of assignment 6. Thus, to
grant or provide additional TEA to the participants to cover the cost of
their daily commute to and from the seminar venue (temporary place of
assignment) is not only improper but also excessive, because that cost
was already deemed included in the incidental expenses portion of the
DTE.

11. We recommend that Management:

a. refrain from sending the BAC, its Secretariat and TWG members, and other
relevant procurement personnel to non-GPPB-conducted, authorized, or
accredited procurement trainings or seminars to ensure that information are
only obtained from reliable and competent sources; and

b. require the participants to refund their respective shares in the irregular

expenses incurred for attending a non-GPPB-accredited or recognized
seminar.

5
Daily Travel Expenses
6
Definition of DTE under Section 2 (b) of EO No. 77

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 May we have your comments on the foregoing audit observations within
fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt hereof.

Atty. MARINA D. CORTERO

State Auditor IV
Audit Team Leader/OIC-
Regional Supervising Auditor

Proof of Receipt of AOM:

Received by Date Signature

Engr. Roberto J. De la Cruz
Engr. Diogemma C. Rodriguez
Mr. Joseph A. Rebadulla
June Ivy C. Mendez
Eden Kris S. Cuya
Almera C. Cariaga

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 Annex A

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 Annex A

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 Annex A

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 Annex B

Details of Claimed Transportation Expense Within the Place of Destination (Cebu City)
Name Date Supporting Document/Particulars Amount Audit Observation
Engr. June Ivy C. Mendez - RER 2,000.00 RERs not completely filled out
Engr. Eden Kris S. Cuya November 15 RER - taxi fare to MJ Hotel Suites 126.00 (undated, no witness,
incomplete details of payee)
RER - taxi fare to Sundance Hotel 143.00
November 16 taxi meter receipt (7:2x-7:2x) 109.00
RER - taxi fare to Sundance Hotel 201.00
RER - taxi fare to MJ Hotel Suites 129.00
November 17 taxi meter receipt (13:40-14:11) 247.50
November 18 taxi meter receipt (19:21-19:40) 105.00
RER - taxi fare to Sundance Hotel 189.00
November 20 RER - taxi fare 750.00
Total 1,999.50
Ms. Almera C. Cariaga November 14 taxi meter receipt (9:32-9:56) 128.50
November 15 RER - taxi fare to Golden Prince Hotel 115.00
RER - taxi fare to Sundance Hotel 265.00
November 16 taxi meter receipt (17:36-17:57) 140.00
RER - taxi fare to Sundance Hotel 209.00
November 17 taxi meter receipt (14:46-15:18) 252.50
taxi meter receipt (10:24-10:41) 139.50
November 20 RER - taxi fare 750.00
Total 1,999.50
GRAND TOTAL 5,999.00

Prepared by: Reviewed by:

MARY FRANCE B. ESPARES-FANTE Atty. MARINA D. CORTERO

State Auditor II/Audit Team Member State Auditor IV/OIC-RSA/ATL

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