One-man show
According to the World Bank, the diminished internal auditing mechanism in the high court was exemplified by Corona’s appointment of one man as court administrator, head of the Public Information Office, and chair of the Bids and Awards Committee.
The court administrator was authorized to approve, on Corona’s behalf, payments of up to P200,000 which was later increased to P500,000, the World Bank said.
“Lack of appropriate segregation of duties of key officials involved in the JRSP has created a breakdown of the control environment, increased fiduciary and reputation risks, and led to irregular/inappropriate procurement and expenditure decisions,” it said.
Without naming Jose Midas Marquez, the World Bank said “this senior official, due to the combination of his appointments and functions, was the requestor of the services, the approver of the terms of reference, the end-user of the services provided by the firm, the authorizer of contract extensions, and the authorizer of payments to the firm.”
It said this arrangement, among others, “present[ed] a conflict of interest and eliminate[d] internal checks and balances applicable to the procurement and disbursement functions.”
x x x."
