STATE AUDITORS questioned the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSoP) over non-compliance with existing laws and regulations as well as lack of supporting documents for the disbursement of P4.789 million in 2019 and 2020 for a program to increase membership.
In its 2020 audit report, the Commission on Audit (CoA) said the funds allotted for the Scout Membership Growth Campaign Program (SMGCP) did not qualify as a “Special Project” under the 2019 national budget
The SMGCP was launched in 2019 with the goal of having 3.7 million scouts by 2025. It granted honoraria to project officers and assistant project officers worth P50,000 and P30,000 in 2019 as well as P60,000 and P36,000 in 2020, respectively, for program implementation.
“The subject SMGCP could not be considered as a ‘Special Project’… inasmuch as the project’s purpose, objectives, and undertakings are very much aligned with the BSoP’s purpose and functions as an organization,” CoA said.
Auditors also noted that payment of honoraria worth P1.993 million or 41.62% of total incentives were paid without any completion of deliverables.
In an audit comment, BSoP said that their legal basis is a resolution issued by their National Executive Board on Feb. 16, 2019, approving the program’s implementation. Aside from that, BSoP said the honoraria were “erroneously termed and accounted” as a personnel services item.
The CoA said in their rejoinder that the board resolution is not an appropriate legal basis and a proper study in 2019 and 2020 should have been conducted on budget items prior to the approval and implementation of the SMGCP. Nevertheless, they said that the funds would still violate existing laws and regulations. — Russell Louis C. Ku