THE Commission on Audit (COA) is questioning the Office of the Vice President (OVP) about delays in the liquidation of financial grants tied to its Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day (MTD) livelihood assistance program in 2024.
According to COA, 31 individuals and 11 non-government organizations (NGOs)/civil society organizations (CSOs) received grants amounting to P15,000 each and P150,000 each, totaling P465,000 and P1,650,000, respectively. The annual audit report revealed that these grants were not liquidated within the required timeframe, with delays spanning from 2 to 154 days.
Under the MTD program, the OVP mandates beneficiaries to utilize the seed capital within 60 days, based on their approved project proposals, and to submit a fund utilization report accompanied by supporting receipts. COA noted, “While it is worthy to mention that the OVP has implemented a control in tracking the individual beneficiaries’ utilization and liquidation of the financial assistance, there were no written actions to be taken or penalty to be imposed in case of non-submission of the prescribed reports and non-liquidation of financial assistance by the beneficiaries.”
In response to the audit findings, the OVP informed auditors that its Special Projects Division has revised the “acknowledgement of obligation” for the MTD individual application form, clarifying recipients’ responsibilities and potential penalties. COA stated, “Management commented that the OVP is currently revising the MTD Manual of Operations to consider provisions addressing the liquidation requirements and sanctions and penalties to be imposed in case of non-compliance and late submissions by the beneficiaries.” The OVP aims to “ensure the proper utilization of funds among all beneficiaries” through these revisions.
As of May 7, 2025, COA reported that 14 of the 31 grants had been fully liquidated, 11 were returned for compliance, and six remained unliquidated, indicating ongoing efforts to address the issues raised by the audit.
