The Office of the Comptroller reveals that 50% of the entities do not address the objections to contracts within the established time in accordance with Act 18
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico publishes a special report on the compliance of 278 entities of the three branches of Government with Act 18 of 1975, Contracts Registry Act, as amended; with Regulation 33 of 2020, Contracts Registry of the Office of the Comptroller; as well as with the related circular letters issued by the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico.
The Special Report reveals that 50% of the entities did not address the objections notified within the established term for fiscal year 2023. An objection is a notification to the active liaison officer of the entity, in which it is reported that the contract was submitted with incomplete or incorrect information. In the Registry application, 2,511 contracts with objections more than 30 days pending response were maintained. These contracts with objections totaled $1,161 million payable and $16 million receivable.
These situations, which had already been commented on in Special Report DA-15-11 of October 24, 2014, prevent the contracts from being accessible to the public as public documents and deprive the Office of the Comptroller of having the contracts correctly for the purposes provided by law.
The verification notes that 64% of the principal officials certified, under oath, incorrect information in the Annual Certification. This certification must be sent to the Office of the Comptroller no later than August 31 at the close of each fiscal year. The auditors identified differences of up to 902 contracts fewer in the application, and 227 contracts more, in the Annual Certification. The application is the electronic contracts registry for entities to register and submit their contracts.
This situation may cause disbursements to be made for contracts not submitted to the Office of the Comptroller, a fact contrary to Act 18 of 1975. In addition, it encourages the issuance of false certifications, an action for which a crime may be classified, according to Article 258 of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico.
The Report, of three results, verified that 26% of the entities did not send the Annual Certification for the year 2023, despite the extension until September 15, 2023. In addition, 13% of the entities did not submit the Annual Certification on the indicated date, but up to 173 days later.
As a result of these findings, the Office of the Comptroller recommends that the Executive Director of the Office of Government Ethics take the measures it deems pertinent.
This Special Report, with a verification date of April 24, 2024, contains five appendices.
The Special Report OC-25-30 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr
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