Republic of the Philippines Province of Rizal

CITY OF ANTIPOLO

THE CITY LEGAL OFFICE

2nd FLOOR, ANTIPOLO CITY HALL, M.L. QUEZON ST. COR. CARIGMA ST., BARANGAY SAN JOSE, ANTIPOLO CITY

FOR : ATTY. CEDRICK JUSTICE U. CAPIRALCity Legal Officer

SUBJECT : Request for budget of the Antipolo Public School Teachers Association (APSTA) for the proposed Membership, Information and Signature Campaign on Public Sector Unionism.

DATE : April 22, 2023

Facts:

We received a letter from the Office of the City Accountant asking for our opinion on whether the City Government of Antipolo (CGA) can disburse fund in relation to the proposed project of Antipolo Public School Teachers Association (APSTA) a private organization represented by its president Manolito C. Resaba.

The proposed project is for the rank and file teachers in public elementary and secondary schools to be educated in the Membership, Information and Signature Campaign on Public Sector Unionism.

Issue:

Whether the CGA can disburse fund in favor of APSTA for the purpose of the latter’s proposed project?

Recommendation:

The fundamental principles encompassing the scope of activities of any government agency to disburse or use public funds are embodied under Presidential Decree No. 1445 otherwise known as “Government Auditing Code of the Philippines” to wit:

Sec. 4. Fundamental principles. Financial transactions and operations of any government agency shall be governed by the fundamental principles set forth hereunder, to wit:

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2. Government funds or property shall be spent or used solely for public purposes.

APSTA, being a private organization, cannot just directly receive any disbursement from the CGA.

Moreover, for the CGA to provide financial assistance to the program mentioned above, allocations to the same must be included among the programs, projects and activities (PPAs) in the FY 2015 Annual Investment Plan (AIP) of the CGA. If not, the CGA cannot disburse funds for the said project. In this case, as stated in the letter dated 19 October 2015 of Corazon B. Ramos of the City Budget Office to Mr. Manolito R. Resaba, the requested fund is not included in the 2015 AIP and in the 2015 Annual Budget of the City Government of Antipolo. The AIP is the yearly program of expenditures of the local government which serves as a legal basis in the preparation of budgets. Thus, Section 305 of the Local Government Code of 1991 is applicable:

Section 305. Fundamental Principles. - The financial affairs, transactions, and operations of local government units shall be governed by the following fundamental principles:

(a) No money shall be paid out of the local treasury except in pursuance of an appropriations ordinance or law;

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Indeed, the CGA should adhere to the provisions mentioned herein to avoid improper use of public funds.

Respectfully submitted.

DSS