Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr. revealed, during a press conference yesterday, the provincial government plans to appeal the P30 million disallowance by the Commission on Audit (COA).
“We will appeal that,” he declared. “All the way to the Supreme Court.”
In a June 28 report, the COA said the Incentive Bonus for Special Achievements and Excellent Performance (IBEP) for fiscal year 2015 was being withheld for an estimated 2,000 employees of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol.
The agency argued, the IBEP would have been granted “without monetary savings resulting from suggestions, inventions, superior accomplishments, and other personal efforts” by government employees.
The governor, however, claimed funds would have been sourced from a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) financial incentive, acquired after earning “Hall of Fame” status for the Excellence in Local Governance (EXCELL) Awards./WDJ