REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON AUDIT
Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Cit, Phili!!ine"

MEMORANDUM NO. : #$$%&$'(
DATE: Se!tem)e* +%, #$$%

TO : All A""i"tant Commi""ione*", Le,al an- A-.u-i/ation O00i/e 1i*e/to*",
Clu"te* 1i*e/to*", Re,ional Le,al an- A-.u-i/ation" 1i*e/to*",
Re,ional Clu"te* 1i*e/to*", Su!e*vi"in, Au-ito*", Au-it Team Lea-e*",
All Othe*" Con/e*ne-2
SUBJECT : Cam!ai,n 0o* the Settlement o0 Unli3ui-ate- Ca"h A-van/e" un-e* the
Inte*&A,en/ Solana Covenant

This Commissions campaign for the settlement of unliquidated cash advances, as part of its
commitments under the inter-agency Solana Covenant, was given renewed vigor under COA
Memorandum o! "##$-#%$, dated &e'ruary "$, "##$, on the su'mission of reports thereon to
the Civil Service Commission, Office of the Om'udsman, (residential Anti-)raft Commission,
or the *epartment of +ustice, for the filing of appropriate charges!
,ncouraging Trends in Su'mission of -eports on,
and Significant -eduction of, .nliquidated Cash Advances
Since then, our COA representative in the /AA)CC Consultative Committee has received very
encouraging reports from the various Audit Sectors0Clusters on the settlement of long-
outstanding unliquidated cash advances which has significantly reduced the 'alances thereof!
Apparently, rather than face the appropriate charges, many accounta'le officers have chosen
to settle their long-outstanding cash advances!
1e urge our field Auditors to sustain their vigilance in this respect, even after they shall have
su'mitted their reports on still unliquidated cash advances! &or, needless to say, the filing of
charges against delinquent accounta'le officers is the least of COAs preoccupations! 1e
much prefer to see financial statements without receiva'les from accounta'le officers!
/n due time, we shall furnish all concerned with updates on the su'mission of reports hereon
'y our Auditors, 'y Sector and 'y Cluster, together with statistics on the perceived reduction of
unliquidated cash advances attri'uta'le to this campaign!
Supporting Auditors Sustained 2igilance
To support our field Auditors sustained vigilance, from time to time, we shall 3eep them
informed of more recent court decisions on cases involving unliquidated cash advances! 1e
hope to learn from these cases the peculiar aspects that the Courts appreciated in arriving at a
decision of conviction or acquittal and the reasons why certain other aspects are not given that
much importance! The first of such cases is herein summari4ed without mentioning the
name5s6 of the accused in order not to cause them further aggravation since the decision is a
conviction!
1hile the su'7ect case is not yet the result of our current campaign versus unliquidated cash
advances, we hope that at least some of the cases that we have reported to the Civil Service
Commission and the Office of the Om'udsman are successfully prosecuted to discourage
further violations of laws and regulations governing cash advances!
Case *igest of *ecided Case
on .nliquidated Cash Advances
/n this recently decided case, the Sandigan'ayan convicted a former Mayor for his failure to
liquidate cash advances he incurred during his term! The mayor was sentenced to si8 596
months imprisonment and was ordered to pay the fine of (%,### after he was found guilty of
violating Section :; of (* o! %$$<! =e was li3ewise ordered to liquidate his unliquidated cash
advances with the Municipality and to su'mit a report thereon to the Court, the Commission on
Audit, and to the Office of the Om'udsman, all within thirty 5>#6 days from the finality of the
7udgment! Should he fail to liquidate the amount involved, the Office of the Om'udsman is
directed to file the appropriate charges!
/n view of the failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the Treasurer 'eyond reasona'le
dou't, the said Treasurer was acquitted of the offense charged! Since the cash advance
dis'ursement vouchers were 'oth signed 'y the Mayor and certified to 'y the Accountant,
there 'eing no evidence of conspiracy, the releasing or paying of the cash advances 'y the
Treasurer 'ecame imminent and ministerial!
The law, Section :; of (* o! %$$<, under which the accused were charged, provides?
@S,CT/O :;! Aimitation on cash advance! - o cash advance shall 'e given unless for a
legally authori4ed specific purpose! A cash advance shall 'e reported on and liquidated as
soon as the purpose for which it was given has 'een served! o additional cash advance shall
'e allowed to any official or employee unless the previous cash advance given to him is first
settled or a proper accounting thereof is made!@
/n the case at 'ar, the information indicted the accused for violating the first and second
limitations or acts in the a'ove-cited Section :;! Based on the dis'ursement signed 'y him,
the accused o'tained the cash advances, without specifying therein the specific purposes for
which they were given! The 7ustifications given 'y the Mayor for his failure to report and
liquidate the cash advances, despite the demand made 'y the Auditor, were not given
credence 'y the Court!
As a consequence of the violation of any of the limitations enumerated under Section :; of (*
%$$<, Section %": of the same law imposes the following penalty, to wit?
@Section %":! (enal provision! - Any violation of the provisions of Section 9C, 9:, %#9, and %#:
of this Code, or any regulation issued 'y the Commission implementing these sections, shall
'e penali4ed 'y a fine not e8ceeding one thousand pesos or 'y imprisonment not e8ceeding
si8 596 months, or 'oth such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the Court!
This Commission will henceforth 3eep you posted on Supreme Court, Sandigan'ayan, Office
of the Om'udsman, and Civil Service Commission resolutions and0or decisions on cases
involving unliquidated cash advances if only to assure ourselves that our efforts in this respect
are not for naught, in addition to whatever information we shall have on the overall progress of
our campaign for timely settlement of unliquidated cash advances!
Deep up the good wor3! And may we all help to ma3e this Commission continuously relevant in
good governanceE