MANILA, 30 June — Labor attachés are under orders to liquidate all their outstanding cash advances, most of them made in previous years, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said in a press statement yesterday.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas issued the directive early this month with a warning labor attachés would be recalled home if they fail to clear their accountabilities by August 31, according to the statement published in the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) website.
Other personnel of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLOs) are also covered by the directive.
Sto. Tomas issued the order as she noted that total unliquidated advances totaled about P117 million as of December 2000, the statement said.
As a matter of policy, POLO officials will no longer be given further cash advances if they fail to liquidate cash advances made in the preceding quarter.
According to the statement, the department’s Financial Management Service (FMS) defended the labor attachés by saying that their innability to settle their accounts was due to lack of personnel to assist them do the paper work needed.
Labor attachés, especially those in countries where there’s a heavy concentration of OFWs, are supposed to be so busy with their work.
The FMS also said that the POLOs’ unliquidated cash advances reached P117 million due mainly to the increase in foreign exchange and rent of offices overseas. They also included those of former labor attachés including a few who had died while in service.
To address this excuse, the department said it has simplified liquidation procedures.
