Senator Nancy Binay admonished the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) to fully review the fiscal policies of government-owned and/or -controlled corporations to avoid getting flagged by the Commission on Audit.
Binay said the fiasco that beset the Duty-Free Philippines Corporation is already a compelling reason for GCG to strengthen accountability among GOCCs.
“In light of the 2017 CoA findings, the GCG must carry out its oversight functions over GOCCs, particularly those that have adverse audit findings. With professionals at the helm of GOCCs, let’s elevate corporate governance and good housekeeping to global best practices,” Binay said.
CoA flagged the DFPC over duty-free passes for various luxury items requested by former Tourism chief Wanda Tulfo-Teo which amounted to over P2.5 million.
“Duty-Free Philippines can already start billing DOT and implement the recommendations of CoA based on its latest audit reports,” she said.
“Accommodating requests outside the mandated procedure is not only violative of the law but also disadvantageous to the government. As a government corporation, the DFPC is expected to exercise great caution in managing its finances, adopt a superior set of best practices in corporate governance, and set the highest fiscal discipline to the best interest of the State. Were the rules expressed in the DFPC manuals and codes implemented? Did they change the process? All these we wanted to know,” Binay added.
CoA said while corporate gifts are allowed, the withdrawals made by DOT that were charged from its share constituted irregular transactions.