BAGUIO CITY – The city council will invite members of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) anew to its January 9 session to shed light on the Commission on Audit (COA) observations on the operation of the Panagbenga festival.
Councilor Elmer Datuin said the move was prompted by the audit observation memorandum of the Commission on Audit Baguio City containing observations on the deficiencies in the conduct of the festival as of 2015 and by the absence of the financial report from the foundation which the council maintains as necessary as basis in determining the city’s subsidy to the festival.
COA Audit team leader Margie Bongait and supervising auditor Shalymar Garcia in a memorandum dated March 17, 2016 said the “absence of policy in the full accounting of funds and Memorandum of Agreement in the conduct of (the festival) between the City Government and the (BFFFI) might lead to inefficient administration of the festival.”
To correct this, they suggested the formulation of a clear set of guidelines on the full accounting of funds and the submission of financial statements and other relevant reports in the conduct of the festival for transparency and accountability.
They also recommended the execution of a MOA between the city and the BFFI for confirmation by the city council to ensure efficient and effective management.
The COA team also noted that the collection of special permit fees during the festival was assigned to the BFFI which is in violation of section 130 of the Local Government Code which does not allow a private entity to collect in behalf of the government.
To this, the team recommended strict observance of the Local Government Code provision and the collection of the unpaid balance determined.
Datuin said the city council for years now has been asking the BFFI to submit the Panagbenga financial statement to determine the financial status of the festival as basis for the city’s action on its counterpart fund.
“As it is, what we are given was only their report to the Securities and Exchange Commission which is far from the financial report we are asking which would show the actual gross income and expenses,” he said adding that these data would also prove whether the festival is really in need of financial backing from the city government or is self-sustaining enough not to require a counterpart fund.
The city has for years been giving P4 million spent as prizes for the various contests being held in line with the festival.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan said that as a practice, BFFI submits an audit report on the Panagbenga funds including the P4 million from the city government and those solicited from private sponsors, donors and earnings from the activities to the SEC. He said the net proceeds are deposited with the BFFI account for the event’s next staging. ** Aileen P. Refuerzo
