MANILA — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for its "irregular expenditures" on smartphones, shirts, jackets, and even fresh flowers.

In its 2022 audit report, COA tagged CHED Davao Region's spending of P275,000 for 5 iPhone and Samsung S22 Ultra smartphone units as "irregular, unnecessary and excessive," as these were not in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

CHED Davao, however, told the audit team that the smartphones were "reasonably priced," given their quality.

“Furthermore, they averred that the purchase of these mobile phones did not in any way hinder the budget of the agency and that the purchase was made in good faith and without prejudice to existing laws and regulations,” the CHED management told the audit team.

The commission also said that it would avoid future purchases that may be labeled and attributed as unnecessary expenditures.

State auditors also noted CHED Central Luzon's spending of P1.105 million for shirts and jackets, which they deemed "unnecessary" and a waste of government funds.

But the regional CHED office responded that its procurement of shirts, jackets, tote bags, and pens were made for different activities as requested by the commission's central office.

“It may be mentioned that the activities were funded from different sources and downloaded to this office on various dates,” the CHED Central Luzon management told the audit team.

Meanwhile, COA also took note of CHED Cordillera regional office buying P16,000 worth of flowers, which were purchased by a private individual for a business pitching competition and graduation ceremony. The amount was later reimbursed by the office.

In response, the regional office told state auditors that the university that hosted the event was unable to provide decorative plants, stressing that the government did not suffer from any losses from the purchase of the said flowers.

“To require refund of the amount may unjustly enrich the government at the expense of these lowly paid employees,” CHED's Cordillera office said.

But the auditors maintained that the transaction did not pass through regular procurement and was still considered irregular.

A copy of the report was received by the office of CHED chairperson Prospero De Vera III on June 30.