MANILA – Mario Lipana, Philippine Sports Commission audit team leader, said the Commission on Audit chairman has created a Task Force to assess the liquidation report of Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella involving the P50.5 million budget for the hosting of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Lipana said the Task Force, headed by director Bato Ali, was given until Dec. 18 to come up with a report regarding their assessment.

After the evaluation of the Task Force, that is the time they will come up with another opinion, he said, adding that they will forward the COA opinion to the PSC for appropriate action.

Lipana recalled that he had rendered a report regarding the liquidation of Puentevella and based on that, the solon requested for 45 days extension since, according to him, there were documents that he has not yet submitted.

Puentevella submitted his liquidation report on Nov. 13, he said.

Lipana said the Commission or any government agency can run after the person who fails to submit a liquidation report 60 days after the consummation of a project or event.

PSC chairman Harry Angping said that since the completion of the SEA Games in 2005 up to the time he took over in February 2009, there has been consistent, regular, follow-up for Puentevella to liquidate. Unfortunately, he never did, he said.

Angping said that all Puentevella did was submit the liquidation which was not acceptable by COA standard. On that basis, the PSC decided to take action, he said.

Lipana said they have recommended to COA to compel Puentevella to liquidate the amount he got in 2005 and this is included in their report which is posted in the COA website. All the demand letters were signed by him, he said.

Puentevella submitted liquidation documents but the former PSC auditor returned it without action since it lacked the necessary documents, Lipana said.

Former PSC chairman Butch Ramirez had even written Puentevella informing him that his liquidation report was returned and asked him to pick it up in his office so he can complete them, he said. But records show that he did not get the documents until the end of 2008, he added.

Puentevella, had earlier, said the action taken by the PSC is politically motivated. He also claimed that there were documents he had submitted to the PSC but these got lost.

Angping said that what he did was only ministerial and it was based on the recommendations of COA.

He said the actual project took place in Dec. 2005 while he took over as PSC chairman only last February 2009. So how can it be politically motivated? Angpin asked.

All their entries are encoded in the computer and if, indeed, Puentevella has documents, these can be traced back in the computer, Angping said. The solon did not also say anything about any lost document, he said.

Meanwhile, Angping asked PSC commissioner Eric Loretizo to stop defending his former boss (Puentevella) in public on the plunder case filed against the solon before the Office of the Ombudsman since he is now a government official.

He said Loretizo knew long ago that the sports agency will be filing a plunder case against Puentevella before it was reported in the national media.*CGS

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