THE Commission on Audit has directed former officials of the Bulacan State University to return P37.88 million in an unauthorized extra compensation they received in 2012.
Chairman Michael Aguinaldo, and Commissioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito issued an order, denying the petition of former university president Mariano de Jesus, board of regent member Hermogena Bautista and other university officials to seek the lifting of 42 notices of disallowance issued on March 12, 2013 ordering them to refund the full amount.
The notices were received on March 25 and 26, 2013, but the petition for review was filed only after 231 days.
Under the CoA rules, an appeal must be filed within 180 days.
The seven-page CoA decision dated Sept. 27, 2017 but released only last November 3 affirmed the CaA Region 3 pronouncement that the grant of accomplishment incentive award to university official of P37,876,296.57 had no basis.
“It bears emphasizing that the appeal is not a right but a mere statutory privilege. Petitioners’ late filing of their appeal is a clear disregard of this Commission’s procedural rules… [they] gave this Commission no other option but to deny their petition,” the order read.
Even if a review on the merits was allowed, CA said the petition would still be denied for violation of the rules of the Department of Budget and Management and provisions of Republic Act No. 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law of 1989. Aguinaldo, along with Fabia and Agito, said the board of regents members were also culpable for the approval of Resolution No. 39 of 2012 was as basis for the grant of the accomplishment incentive award.