In a decision recently handed down by the three-man COA-Commission Proper, lawyer Maria Victoria J. Jasmin was cleared of returning P264,120.61 which was the original computation of her plane fare to Costa Rica where she attended the 8th Meeting of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The audit body conducted an automatic review of Jasmin’s case after the Cluster Director of COA National Government Sector-Cluster 7 ruled in 2018 that the former DOT official is not entitled to fly on business class to Costa Rica where she attended the two day international conference. In the review of the case, Jasmin justified her business class flight by relying on the “doctrine of qualified political agency”, saying that this exempted her from liability. She cited numerous Supreme Court jurisprudence on the issue.
A government official may only be allowed to purchase non-economy class air fare if approved by the chief executive.