CoA flags Lanao del Sur local gov’t

THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the municipal government of Balabagan, Lanao del Sur for failing to submit its records of properties and assets amounting to P300 million, rendering its financial account unreliable.

State auditors said they found the Balabagan town’s financial statement doubtful due to its failure to submit necessary audit documentation for P297.59 million worth of its assets, limiting CoA’s ability to evaluate the accuracy of its books.

“We rendered a qualified opinion on the fairness of presentation of the financial statements due to the Property, Plant, and Equipment amounting to ₱297,590,771 which cannot be ascertained due to non-submission of the Report on the Physical Count of Property, Plant, and Equipment, thus render the account as unreliable,” a part of the CoA report stated.

“Inability of the agency to conduct physical inventory, submission of the [records]… hindered the reconciliation of the accounting and property records,” it added.

The Municipal Government of Balabagan did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. The local government noted, however, that it will comply with CoA after their annual inventory completion, according to the CoA report. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio