COA flags discrepancies in transfer of firearms, body armor to PNP regional offices

COA flags discrepancies in transfer of firearms, body armor to PNP regional officesCOA flags discrepancies in transfer of firearms, body armor to PNP regional offices

The Commission on Audit warns that 'evident discrepancies between the [headquarters] and the regional offices open an avenue for misapplication and possible loss' of supplies

The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged a lack of records showing that firearms and body armor vests were indeed turned over to regional offices of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In its 2020 audit, COA found that the books of accounts of 11 PNP regional offices did not match the number of supplies – referred to as “property, plan, and equipment” – supposedly transferred to them as stated in the national headquarters’ records.

The team found these discrepancies in police regional offices in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Miraropa, Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region, and at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The supplies in question included 9mm pistols, basic assault rifles, enhanced combat helmets, and tactical vests, among others.

In Ilocos region, the office told COA that the headquarters transferred the supplies “directly to the support units and not through proper channels.” Meanwhile, the Bangsamoro police regional office said that the headquarters didn’t transfer the journal entry vouchers to PNP BARMM.

COA warned that the “evident discrepancies between the [headquarters] and the regional offices open an avenue for misapplication and possible loss of subject PPEs.”

The PNP national headquarters, however, said that journal entry vouchers were already done, and that its accounting division is in the process of reconciliating the records to address the discrepancies pointed out by COA.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/national-news/commission-audit-flags-discrepancies-transfer-supplies-philippine-national-police