COA: PH embassy officials not liable for stolen Mercedes-Benz van in Rome

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine embassy officials in Rome, Italy, are not liable for a P1.8-million vehicle of the diplomatic post that was stolen in 2017, the Commission on Audit (COA) ruled.

The COA en banc, in a decision dated February 3, but released only Wednesday, April 14, cited Section 105 of Presidential Decree No. 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines which provides that an accountable public officer may be held liable for loss of or damage to government property if the evidence establishes negligence.

COA acted on the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filed in behalf of the embassy officials who sought relief from property accountability over the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van that was stolen nearly 10 years ago.

“This Commission finds no fault or negligence which may be attributed to PE (Philippine Embassy), Rome, Italy, for the theft of the minivan. This Commission finds that there is reasonable basis to grant the request for relief from property accountability on the basis of the documents submitted,” COA said.

The theft was recorded by the embassy’s closed-circuit television camera at the chancery parking lot for the embassy’s service vehicles. 

Based on CCTV footage, a person in a hooded jacket approached the vehicle past midnight of November 27, 2017, got in, and drove away with the vehicle in less than a minute.

The embassy reported the theft to local police and also alerted the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation about it. The embassy got an insurance claim of 20,000 euros for the stolen vehicle. – Rappler.com