IN a span of less than two hours, aides of two warring mayoral candidates in Cagayan de Oro City took turns hitting and defending the cash advances of the local government.
At 2:00 p.m. Wednesday (April 30), former city administrator Teddy Sabuga-a showed a PowerPoint presentation to media enumerating what he claimed as cash advances executed at the city government between December 16, 2022 to January 2, 2025 totaling P306 million.
Sabuga-a said cash advances are legal and covered under Republic Act 9184 and COA Circular 97-002.
But in these multiple cases, he said the cash advances are highly irregular because the recipients are not department heads but concentrated among a few employees.
“This is highly irregular. The cash advance system is meant for urgent, specific needs. But in these instances, it raises serious concerns about transparency and the potential misuse of public funds,” Sabuga-a, an aide to comebacking mayoral bet Oscar Moreno, said.
Thirteen City Hall employees were named in Sabuga-a’s expose and purposes ranged from training of good governance to community policing fora.
“Kung tinuod nga naa ning mga forum, ngano ipaagi man sa cash advance? Ngano dili man isyuhan og tseke ang supplier?” Sabuga-a asked.
With this development, the former city government official is writing a letter to COA asking the agency to look into the matter immediately.
“We are also calling for public disclosure of liquidation reports and administrative and criminal investigations if warranted,” he said.
By 4:00 p.m., City Hall had a response.
Mayor Rolando Uy’s spokesperson Jann Guillmore Actub said cash advances are normal in government.
“Tungod kay panahon karon sa eleksyon, busa, dili na ikatingala nga daghan ang magbuhat-buhat sa mga isyu ug istorya nga walay kapasikaran aron lang pagdaot sa kredibilidad ug reputasyon sa usa ka kandidato, ilabina si Mayor Klarex Uy,” Actub said.
Actub assured the public that all financial transactions are covered under strict accounting procedures within the ambit of the same edict that Sabuga-a cited – COA Circular 97-002.
“Naa man mga buhatan sa gobyerno nga mohatag sa ilang ‘audit findings’ kung adunay makit-an nga iregularidad sa paggamit sa kuarta sa gobyerno. Makalaum ang katawhan nga gigamit sa ensakto ang kuarta ug nakasunod sa proseso ug wala kini giwaldas o’ kaha gibulsa,” Actub said.
Ex-city administrator leaks CDO cash advances and calls them unusual, Klarex spox says they are routinary
