MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 01 September) – A total of 433 or 63 percent of the 683 personnel under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) last year were part of the security and protection group, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
COA’s 2022 annual audit report said that last year the OVP had 174 individuals, including Vice President Sara Duterte, occupying plantilla positions and 509 others in non-plantilla or detailed positions. All the 433 members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) belonged to the latter category.
The audit report did not say if the 433 VPSPG personnel were assigned by the AFP or hired by the OVP.
In 2021, the OVP only had 78 military detailed personnel, according to COA’s annual audit report for that year.
For 2022, the OVP reported that its “good governance program,” which was reflected in the COA audit report, performed beyond the targets.
COA’s “significant observations and findings” based on the 2022 annual audit included the following:
The immediate establishment of OVP Satellite Offices without enough equipment to operate led to purchases of plant, property and equipment and semi-expendable property totaling P668,197.20, not fully compliant under the relevant procedures and provisions of Republic Act 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, thus the purpose of the Procurement Law was not completely achieved.
OVP’s guidelines on the Medical Assistance Program needs improvement as authorized discount and VAT exemption of Senior Citizen and Persons With Disability clients on purchase of medicines were not availed of by OVP, thus impedes the efficient utilization of funds.
Meanwhile, Duterte has drawn criticisms for including confidential funds worth P150 million in the proposed budget for the Department of Education, which she concurrently heads.
The vice president maintained that such funds were necessary, saying education is intertwined with national security. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
