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COA bares OSG?s P10-M ?excess? allowances, P800-M ?illegal? payments

Solicitor General Jose Calida and 14 lawyers in his agency last year collected P10.8 million in excess allowances in violation of Commission on Audit (COA) regulations and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) itself illegally paid P800 million to foreign law firms from as far back as nine years ago, according to the state accounting agency.

In its 2017 audit report, the COA said Calida received a total excess in allowances of P7.5 million in 2017. Two Assistant Solicitors General who received the next largest amounts were Renan Ramos, who exceeded his allowances by more than P837,000 and Henry Angeles, who got an excess of more than P697,000, the COA said.

State auditors said the practice was irregular because OSG officials collected allowances whose amounts exceeded 50-percent of their salary, the regulatory cap set by the COA.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/996718/coa-bares-osgs-p10-m-excess-allowances-p800-m-illegal-payments#ixzz5HRwQZuDE