G.R. No. 252171 , October 29, 2024
EDITO A.G. BALINTONA, PETITIONER, VS. HON. MICHAEL G. AGUINALDO, IN HIS CAPACITY AS THE CHAIRPERSON-COMMISSIONER, HON. JOSE A. FABIA & HON. ROLAND C. PONDOC, IN THEIR CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONERS, ALL OF THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Edito A.G. Balintona, former Mayor of the Municipality of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, assails the Commission on Audit (COA) Decision and Resolution which affirmed the disallowance of three fund transfers from the Municipality to the District Monitoring Office, 1st District, Ilocos Norte Congressional Office, aggregating PHP 30,000,000.00. The funds were from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation of then Congressman Roque R. Ablan, Jr. In 2009 and 2010, the Municipality, upon receiving Notices of Cash Allocation and Notices of Funding Check from the DBM, transferred the amounts to the 1st District Monitoring Office’s private bank account based on Ablan’s requests. Petitioner sought and obtained authorizing resolutions from the Sangguniang Bayan and executed Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with Ablan, wherein the Congressional Office undertook to implement the priority projects. The COA, through an Audit Observation Memorandum, later found the transfers irregular as the funds were not used for any project by the Municipality but were instead transferred to a private account. The COA held the transactions violated pertinent budget, auditing, and local government laws and rules, including COA Circular No. 94-013 and the Local Government Code. Petitioner was held liable for the disallowed amount.

ISSUE

Whether the COA committed grave abuse of discretion in affirming the disallowance of the PHP 30,000,000.00 in PDAF funds transferred by the Municipality of Sarrat to the 1st District Monitoring Office.

RULING

No, the COA did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the COA’s rulings. The fund transfers were properly disallowed as they were illegal and violated established rules. The transfer of PDAF funds to a private bank account of a congressional office is prohibited. COA Circular No. 94-013 explicitly states that funds transferred to implementing agencies shall be deposited only with authorized government depository banks under the name of the agency concerned, not in a private account. Furthermore, the Local Government Code mandates that local government funds shall be spent solely for public purposes, and the transfers here constituted an unauthorized use of public funds. The MOAs did not cure the illegality, as they effectively constituted an abdication of the Municipality’s responsibility to implement the projects. Petitioner, as the approving authority who acted with evident bad faith by allowing the transfer to a private account despite knowledge of the prohibition, is solidarily liable for the disallowed amount. The defense of good faith was rejected.