RESPONSIBILITY,
ACCOUNTABILITY AND
LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT
FUNDS
Agency Head- highest official in any
government agency who is immediately
and primarily responsible for all
government funds and property pertaining
to the agency
Accountable Officer - officers whose
duties permit or require the possession or
custody government funds or property and
accountable therefore for the safekeeping
thereof
Responsibility - refers to the state of being
answerable for the discharge of a duty
Accountability - holding people
answerable to someone for doing specific
things, according, to specific plans and
timetables to accomplish tangible
performance results
“Accountability”, answerability of every
public officer whose duties permit or
requires possession or custody of
government funds or property; Manual on
Certificate of Settlement and Balances
Liability - embraces all obligations, which
a person is bound to discharge or meet
euther in law or in equity
AUTHORITY RESPONSIBILITY
Carry Out
Assigned Duties
ACCOUNTABILITY
Laws and Regulations on the
Accountability, Responsibility and
Liability for Government Funds and
Property
P.D. 1445;
1. Head of a government agency and all
those who exercise authority over
financial affairs, transactions and
operations of the agency,
• take care of the management and
utilization of government resources
• safeguard against loss or wastage to
ensure efficient, economical and
effective operations of the
government (Secs. 2 and 4 (4)
2. Person accountable immediately notify
the Commission on Audit when loss
occurs and within thirty (30) days,
present his application for relief
3. When an officer accountable dies or
becomes inacapacitated, agency head
shall designate a custodian to take
charge of the funds and property until a
successor shall have been appointed
and qualified.
4. Every accountable officer shall be
bonded
5. Head of any agency of the government
is immediately and primarily
responsible for all government funds
and property pertaining to his agency.
6. Persons entrusted with the possession
or custody of the funds shall be
immediately responsible to the head of
the agency
7. Expenditures of government funds in
violation of law shall be a personal
liability of the official or employee
directly responsible
8. Head of any government agency shall
supervise accountable officers under
his control to prevent the incurrence of
loss of government funds or property
(Sec. 104)
9. Every officer accountable for
government property shall be liable for
all losses, damages or deterioration
occasioned by negligence in the
keeping or use of the property
[Sec.105(1)]
10. Every officer accountable for
government funds shall be liable for all
losses attributable to negligence in the
keeping of the funds [Sec.105(2)]
11. No accountable officer shall be relieved
from liability by reason of his havinf
acted under the direction of a superior
officer in paying out, unless prior to
that act, he notified the superior office
in wwriting of the illegality of the
payment, aplication or disposition
(Sec.106)
12. All acountable officers shall render
their accounts, submit their vouchers,
and make deposit of the money
collected or held in trust by in manner
prescribed by the COA (Sec.107).
Other Laws and Regultions
13. Liability of Superior Officers (1987
Administrative Code, EO 292)
- A public officer shall be civilly liable
for acts done in the
official duties unless there is a clear
showing of bad faith, malice or gross
negligence
- Any public officer who without
cause, neglects to perform a duty within
a period fixed by law or regulations shall
be liable for damage to the private party
- A head of a department or a superior
officer shall not be civilly liable for the
wrongful acts, omissions of....
duty, negligenc or misfeasance of his
subordinates, unless he has actually
authored by written order the specific act or
misconduct complained of.
14. The Commission on Audit shall be
furnished with photographs of
collecting and/or disbursing officers
upon thie filing of application for bond
15. No accountable or responsible officer
shall be pecuniarily interested in any....
contract or transactin of the agency in
which he is such an officer.
16. Government cashiers are prohibited
from holding positions as Cashiers or
treasurers of savings and loan
association or organization
(Section 67, GAAM Vol. I)
Functions of the Head of Agency
1. Develop and install the internal control
structure of the agency
2. Maintain the internal control
environment
3. Manage, operate and control the
operation of his/her agency in
accordance with laws, rules and
regulations
4. Implement programs, projects and
measures and provide for the selection,
recruitment and training and
development of personnel
5. Present annually or periodically budget
of expenditures for agency operations
6. To maintain an annual or periodic
evaluation and report of the operations
and related activities of the agency
7. Coordinate all support services and
avail of appeal procedures to improve
these services and ensures the proper
use of management tools and resources
8. Establish linkages both public and
private
9. Supervise the acoountable officers
under his/her control to assure
compliance to existing laws, rules and
regulations
Accountability and Liability of Cash
Accountable Officers
1. Thoe whose duties require the
possession or custody of government
funds shall be accountable and be
properly bonded (Section 66, GAAM
Vol. I and Section 305 (f), RA 7160).
2. Shall be liable for all losses resulting
from the unlawful deposit, use or
application and for all lossess
attributable to....
negligence. (Section 105 (2), P.D.
1445).
3. Who fails to notify and apply for relief
from cash accountability within the
prescribed time, in time of loss, shall
not be relieved of liability or allowed
credit for any such loss in settlement of
his accounts (Sec.73, P.D. 1445).
Liability for Acts Done by Direction of
Superior Officer
• No accountable officer shall be relieved
from liability by reason of his having
acted under the direction of a superior
officer, unless prior to that act he notified
the superior officer in writing of the
illegality of the payment, application or
disposition
• The officer directing any illegal payment
or disposition of the funds or property
shall be primarily liable for the loss while
the accountable officer who fails to serve
the required notice shall be secondarily
liable (Sec.106, P.D. 1445)
The agency head shall not approve any
clearance from money and property
accountabilities in favor of any employee
unless all charges disallowane and
suspensions are first settled.
Bonding of Accountable Officers
• The amount of bond shall depend on the
total accountability of the officer as fixed
by the Head of Agency
• An official or employee who has both
money and property accountability shall
be bonded only once to cover both
accountabilitites
The Role of COA
• authenticate the amount of public
resources received by a government
agency and to validate the uses thereof
• reviews the transactions of government
agencies to ascertain if it complied with
budgetary and other fiscal laws and
regulations
• vested with other extraordinary powers
under the Constitution, among which is
the quasi-judicial power, or the power to
disallow in audit those transactions
which are irregular, unnecessary,
extravagant, illegal and unconscionable
as well as to hold the public officer
concerned personally liable therfor.
• rule-making power, or the power of COA
to promulgate accounting and auditing
rules and regulations
Financial Accountability
Legal Basis of Financial Accountability
Persons Accountable for Local
Government Funds
• Any officer of the local government unit
whose duty permits or requires the
possession or custody of local
government funds.
• Other local officers likewise be held
accountable for local government funds
through their participation in the use of
application thereof. (Section
340, R.A. No. 7160)
Fiscal Responsibility shared by all those
exercising authority over the financial
affairs, transactions and operations of the
local government unit. (Section
305, R.A. No. 7160)
THE CONCEPT OF
ACCOUNTABILITY
• Accountability springs from the
principle that “public office is a public
trust”
• Accountability involves three parties:
1. State or Government, also called
the “trustor”, owner of all public
resources
2. Public Officer called the “trustee” or
“accountable officer” in whom public
resources are entrusted for the benefit of
the general public
3. People, “beneficiary” for whose
benefit public resources are intended
Financial Accountability, where the
object is “public funds and property”
Political Accountability, where the object
is the “sovereign power” that is entrusted
to the elected representatives of the
People.
THE END
THANK YOU
