The Commission on Audit has flagged the National Telecommunications Commission over deficiencies in its revenue accounts due to erasures in official receipts.

In a 2022 report, CoA found 30 duplicate copies of receipts issued by the Special Collection Officer of NTC Regional Office VI-Bacolod Sub-Office containing erasures, which indicated weakness in the internal control for collections and deposits of RO-VI.

The ORs contained the recorded collections of NTC-RO VI amounting to P208,454.

State auditors said the lapses in the transactions ran counter to Section 124 of Presidential Decree 1445, which mandates the agency head to be directly responsible for installing, implementing, and monitoring a sound internal control system.

Dates changed

The audit found that the NTC Bacolod sub-office submitted 30 duplicate ORs with erasures in dates, amounts, and/or payees indicated in the transactions using correction tape.

“The erasures noted in 30 duplicate copies of issued ORs indicated a weakness in the internal control in the collection process, cast doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the transactions, and exposed government funds to the risk of loss and/or misuse,” CoA said.

NTC Bacolod sub-office OIC told auditors the erasures were unintentional and that he had instructed the SCO to either avoid erasures in the issuance of ORs or cancel the ORs and issue new ones in case erasures were unavoidable.

However, CoA pointed out that “all supporting documents for all recorded transactions should have been checked before recording to implement sound internal controls in the collection process and to ensure accuracy and reliability of the recorded data.”