DavNor Province still reeling from 4.8% IRA cut

TAGUM CITY -The provincial government of Davao del Norte is still reeling from the 4.8 percent reduction of its Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) prompting the Provincial Accountant’s Office (PACCO) to implement stringent disbursement and liquidation rules.

“We haven’t recovered from the IRA reduction nightmare and our financial managers are still figuring out how to carry out the different programs of the province efficiently even with limited resources,” Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said yesterday during Monday’s Convocation held at the Bulwagan of the Provincial Government Complex.

Del Rosario congratulated the PACCO for being mindful of its obligations and the expenses of the province saying it is the first outpost that will ensure the safe journey of the provincial documents.

PACCO head and Provincial Accountant Serlina C. Atake reminded the different offices concerned with the payroll and other financial transactions of the province to observe the procedure in preparation for the closing of the accounting books of the province at the end of the year.

Atake urged accountable officers to liquidate their funds immediately to avoid delays. She added that expenses for local travel should be liquidated after 30 days while foreign travel should be liquidated after 60 days.

Citing amendments to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Rule V on the policy guidelines related to the liquidation of cash advances, Atake said failure of an accountable officer to liquidate such advances in full after formal demand is punishable by suspension from service for one month, one day up to six months for the first offense and dismissal from service for the second offense.

“The province has already been practicing this even prior to the CSC amendment to the said circular but not strictly implemented for humanitarian reasons,” she said. But with the new memo from the CSC, she added, we will be strictly implementing this from now on.

Del Rosario supported the “careful attitude” of the PACCO saying that any negative findings from the Commission on Audit can affect the Seal of Good Housekeeping awarded to the province recently.

“Every peso counts as we pursue our people development agenda,” he said.  Accountable officers should follow the rules to have an efficient budget and avoid wastage of government funds, he added.(lovely a. carillo)