Travel binge cost taxpayers $6.5-M in ’97

The CNMI government spent over $6.5 million for 2,813 overseas travels and 5,740 trips within the Northern Marianas in Fiscal Year 1997, most of which were improper and not related to official business.

Based on the findings of the Office of the Public Auditor, the Executive Branch during the administration of former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio spent $2.6 million in overseas trips and $511,846 in travels within the CNMI.

The Public School System came second with total expenses of $674,213 in off-island trips. Third on top of the list was the Commonwealth Ports Authority, which used to be one of the biggest revenue generating autonomous agencies, spent $448,693 in overseas travels.

Surprisingly, the cash-strapped Northern Marianas College even outperformed the financially-independent Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund in overseas travel with expenditures reaching $424,832.

The OPA reviewed some 268 travel authorizations it has compiled to provide the government information in implementing austerity measures as well as in rationalizing the implementation of standard travel policy and increase public awareness on the issue.

According to Leo L. LaMotte, CNMI public auditor, the Northern Marianas participated in and sent large contingents of 5 to 17 people to meetings and conferences where excesses travel expenses were noted.

“We identified examples of travel that were questionable or nonessential and could have been avoided to reduce travel cost. Too often, these examples involved purposes and number of travelers which were not justifiable,” he said.

The report cited a travel to Manila and Hong Kong by the former governor where he brought along 17 people supposedly to meet with investors from Oct. 15 to 18, 1996. The trip cost the taxpayers some $65,000.

The government also spent too much on multiple trips for the same purpose. Four people visited the CNMI-Manila Liaison Office in May 1997 to reevaluate the office. A month later, two more people went to the liaison office with the same objective.

In addition, the government funded trips to sporting events which were not officially sanctioned by the administration. The OPA noted that a personal trip by a government employee who accompanied participants to the Youth Bowling Championship in the Philippines was paid by the government.

“Employees attending or participating in such events should bear the cost of the trips, and government funding should be totally eliminated,” the OPA said.

Three employees received $2,453 in per diem for a four-day trip to Korea. Airfare was provided free by Asiana Airlines through yearly “incentive program”. The report stated that the travelers visited cultural and historical sties, shopping districts and entertainment places. However, there was nothing in the trip report that clearly stated how it could have benefited the CNMI taxpayers.

Incomplete

The 268 TAs reviewed in the study cost $1,030,620.92, or 15.8 percent of total travel expenditures recorded in FY 1997. OPA said these were selected mainly because of the huge amount involved on travel.

And of the travel authorizations reviewed, only 219 were liquidated with travel vouchers, 128 of which were without supporting trip reports. This was due to the traveler’s failure to comply with existing policies and procedures for travel and transportation.

Some 134 travel vouchers of the 219 liquidation made were not submitted within 15 days from the completion of government travel. As of Feb. 12, 1999, 24 travel authorizations were still unliquidated.

Despite failure to settle outstanding travel advances and failure to submit travel vouchers as well as supporting documents, government officials approved the issuance of new travel advances.

For FY 1999, the Legislature appropriated only $2 million for travel indicating that the government is willing to spend significantly less at this time when government revenues are down. But the OPA emphasized that the government must always limit travel to that which is essential even during better economic times.

The OPA study on administration-paid travel showed that:

• Government agencies and departments failed to ensure that required trip reports were submitted upon liquidation of travel advances to determine whether the trips were undertaken to benefit the people of the Commonwealth.

• Concerned agencies did not bother to make sure that a detailed trip reports and documented travel expenditures were timely filed in accordance with applicable requirements.

The Commonwealth statute specifies the submission of a detailed trip report and documented travel expenditures to the approving authority within 15 days after completion of a government travel. A person who has failed to make a timely submission shall not receive travel advances until one has settled the inadequacies in the previous trip.

In its report, the OPA recommended that the head of the agency or the department instruct the person in charge of the issuance and liquidation of travel advances to strictly enforce requirements for trip report submission and timely filing of travel vouchers.

This could be accomplished by including a trip report in the checklist of required attachments to the travel vouchers and ensure that trip report is included with each travel voucher submitted.

A missing trip report would constitute an incomplete travel voucher which should be returned to the official concerned to attach the document and strictly enforce the requirement of not granting requested new travel advances for travelers who fail to file timely travel vouchers.

The OPA gave copies of the draft report to 12 departments and autonomous agencies of the government in September 1999. Only nine agencies submitted written responses to the audit findings and recommendations. Those which did not give written responses were the Northern Marianas College, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Seven of the autonomous agencies visited by the OPA did not strictly require the submission of a trip report including the Travel Office of the Special Assistant for Administration.