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COA flags MTRCB for extra pay to board members

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The Commission on Audit has flagged P5.2 million in additional benefits given to Movie and Television Review and Classification Board members that did not get approval from the Office of the President.In its audit report for 2017, state auditors said 30 board members received additional allowances, based on the minutes of board meetings and board resolutions.&quot;We also reviewed the documents relative to the request for special budget of the agency. However, these were not duly received or approved by the President or the DBM (Department of Budget and Management),&quot; COA said.MTRCB, both a regulatory and developmental agency, is mandated to review and classify motion pictures and television programs, including publicity materials.In response, MTRCB head Ma. Rachel Arenas said COA did not issue any disallowance, suspension or charges against the censors board &quot;because whatever amount that every Board Member receives is duly authorized in the budget approved by Congress through the General Appropriations Act.&quot;&quot;They only made observations and recommendations to expand our guidelines so we can improve our financial compliance. COA observed that some of our accounting and financial practices are still based on guidelines that MTRCB used since 20 years ago,&quot; said Arenas, who was appointed in January 2017.Arenas said she already told state auditors that board members do not earn salaries but are given allowances/honoraria. &quot;I just want to assure the President that the MTRCB is fully compliant with his strict rules of transparency, accountability and integrity,&quot; she added. In its report, the state auditing agency said MTRCB paid 30 board members a total of P14.8 million in 2017, wherein the P5.2 million pertained to additional benefits.Supporting documents showed that the board members received P45,000 per month in transportation, representation, and other allowances that runs counter to Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 1986, which states it &quot;shall in no case exceed P5,000 per month.&quot;Each board member received P10,000 per diem for board meeting, P5,000 in representation and transportation allowance, P14,000 in monitoring expenses, P5,000 in Optical Media Board (OMB) emolument, and P7,500 in board committee activities.&quot;As a basic principle, additional benefits are not allowed for services rendered which are inherent to the functions for which one is already compensated for,&quot; COA added.State auditors have recommended MTRCB to submit all documents supporting the request for special budget, which shall be approved in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative Code of 1987.<div>RICE SUBSIDY</div>The COA also flagged the MTRCB for releasing P1.5 million monitoring allowance to its officials and employees that were not supported by documents.State auditors found out that two officials and all employees not assigned to the Monitoring and Inspection Unit were receiving monthly monitoring allowances of P6,500 and P3,000 respectively.The MTRCB, COA noted, also paid P722,500 for the procurement of rice, which were distributed to employees on a quarterly basis.Both monitoring allowance and rice subsidy were recorded in the special fund of the agency as travelling expenses.State auditors have also verified MTRCB&#x27;s 2017 special budget where rice subsidy is not included in the proposed disbursements.&quot;Granting of rice subsidy to employees without the appropriate legal basis is strongly discouraged,&quot; COA said in its report.<div>&#x27;INADEQUATE DOCUMENTS&#x27;</div>Among COA&#x27;s findings is the granting of P6 million worth of monitoring expenses to BMs and special agents without proper supporting documents.The MTRCB posted a total of P21.2 million for travel expenses, which include the P6 million monitoring expenses paid to BMs and special agents.&quot;The required supporting documents for BMs such as official receipts, invoices, and tickets were not submitted,&quot; COA said.Accomplishment reports attached to the payrolls of special agents were also not &quot;readily verifiable.&quot;&quot;There were no other documents from which to verify the reported accomplishments such as cinema tickets or acknowledgement of entities or operators inspected or surveyed by the special agents,&quot; COA added.The COA recommended the MTRCB to submit necessary documents to support monitoring expenses in accordance with the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines and COA Circular No. 2012-001.The MTRCB is headed by former Pangasinan representative Ma. Rachel Arenas. It is composed of a chairman, vice chairman, executive director, and 30 board members, all of which are appointed by the president.

MANILA - The Commission on Audit has flagged P5.2 million in additional benefits given to Movie and Television Review and Classification Board members that did not get approval from the Office of the President.

MANILA - The Commission on Audit has flagged P5.2 million in additional benefits given to Movie and Television Review and Classification Board members that did not get approval from the Office of the President.