DOF sacks exec over funds misuse

The Department of Finance (Dof) has sanctioned an official found to have included her personal expenses in the official costs of a recently-held DOF technical workshop funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III asked the official, a director at the Dof, to immediately return to the ADB the exact amount corresponding to her personal expense that was inappropriately included in the workshop’s budget.

“I have also accepted the resignation of the official,” said Dominguez.

An investigation conducted by the Dof in cooperation with the ADB showed that “based on the contract that was signed between the ADB and Edsa Shangrila Hotel dated July 17, a dinner for 40 persons hosted by the director was inappropriately included,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez also said that, despite explicit instructions given to the director to conduct the workshop at the Ayuntamiento de Manila in Intramuros without dinner and charged to the Dof’s regular budget, the official decided on her own without prior clearance to have the event held at the Edsa Shangri-La hotel and funded by an ADB-administered Technical Assistance (TA) facility.

Given this, Dominguez had instructed the official to immediately return to the ADB-administered technical assistance facility the exact amount corresponding to the cost of the dinner.

Dominguez said abusive behavior of DOF officials will not be tolerated under his watch.

He directed the Dof officials concerned to “review and tighten the DOF’s internal procedures to avoid similar incidents in the future.”