MANILA, Philippines — State auditors flagged at least P62.23 million in aid payments to overseas Filipino workers that lacked complete supporting documents, prompting calls for the Department of Migrant Workers to tighten its review of assistance claims.
The Commission on Audit said in its 2025 audit report that disbursements from the department’s Aksyon Fund had documentation deficiencies at its central office and regional offices in Metro Manila, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
The department said it would comply with the auditors’ recommendations but cautioned that the findings did not automatically indicate corruption or irregularities.
In Ilocos, auditors flagged P18.69 million in payments because documents authorizing the release of funds lacked the signature of the migrant workers secretary or an authorized representative.
At the central office, auditors identified deficiencies in P16.22 million in assistance distributed to 65 beneficiaries. Records for 30 recipients lacked signed approval requests, proof of eligibility, billing invoices and case reports. Another 25 beneficiaries had no required medical reports, while the remaining cases lacked documents such as proof of unemployment, maltreatment or eligibility, or medical reports.
In Mimaropa, auditors questioned P9.91 million in payments to 152 beneficiaries whose claims were processed despite missing at least one required document. Those records included assistance requests, passports or travel documents, proof of overseas employment status, acknowledgment receipts and documents supporting the circumstances cited in their applications.
Incomplete records could prevent auditors from establishing whether the expenditures were legitimate and complied with requirements, the commission said.
It urged the department to explain the missing documentation and review its guidelines to ensure assistance claims have complete supporting records.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac described the findings as part of ongoing efforts to improve procedures and financial safeguards.
“These are just continuing process improvements, financial controls and safeguards that we continue to implement,” Cacdac said.
He said the audit questions concerned about 8% of the department’s budget and that the agency had already responded to observations raised by auditors in July.
