MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) over its airfare expenses for foreign trips in 2018 amounting to P7.128 million. For one, the audit body said the airplane expenses for the OSG lawyers’ foreign trips were not supported by quotations from at least three travel agencies in violation of COA Circular 2012-001. “In addition, some itinerants were allowed to reimburse their airplane ticket without the price quotation and abstract of quotations attached to the claim,” the COA report read. The COA also called out the OSG for its local training expenses, amounting to P1,270,312.50, as these were held in hotels and restaurants that do not have a tie-up with the government. There were also no attendance sheet and some have no list of participants attached, in direct contravention to Number 6 of Section 4 of PD 1445,” the COA report read.

Source: Philippine Star May 21, 2019 15:29 UTC