A special financial audit has been ordered by the Commission on Audit (CoA) for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) amid growing suspicions that massive fraud in the handling of over P20 billion in the provincial government’s fund allocations is linked to the wealth of the family of suspended Governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

CoA Chairman Reynaldo Villar reportedly issued a memorandum circular that created a special audit group to review the financial status, fund disbursements and expenditures of ARMM in the past two years.

A similar financial review of ARMM government’s handling of funds will also be the subject of a congressional oversight proceedings that will be conducted by the House Committee on Oversight next year.

Committee chairman and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said he is awaiting a directive from Speaker Prospero Nograles to conduct both financial and performance oversight audit of the ARMM.

CoA sources said Villar has ordered all financial documents be transferred to the Manila office in order to fully secure the audit team and insulate its members from the influence of the Ampatuans.

The directive was issued by the CoA chief in reaction to the growing suspicions that the unexplained wealth of the Ampatuans could be traced to irregularities in the disbursement of funds which are of “colossal magnitude” since Ampatuan took over the reins of the regional government.

The enormous wealth of the Ampatuans came to public knowledge following recent raids conducted by the military at their mansions.

The hoards of state-of-the-art armaments that were seized by government authorities during the week-long martial law in Maguindanao were also traced to the Ampatuans.

Members of the powerful Ampatuan clan have been tagged as the perpetrators of the gruesome massacre of 57 persons in Maguindanao last November 23.

Earlier, questions have been raised over the disbursement of some P1.5 billion in government funds to the ARMM.

The amount has allegedly been spent for “ghost agrarian reform projects” in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

Official documents released to the House of Representatives by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) indicated that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has not submitted a list of projects that were financed from the cash releases made by DBM in 2008 and 2009.

Presented to the Lower House by Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., contents of the DBM report raised suspicions that the huge sum of government money may have been misspent either by key officials of DAR and ARMM.

Lawmakers have asked Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman to fully account for the projects financed by the government. A special audit by the Commission on Audit has also been demanded.

Andaya has disclosed that a total P1.7 billion has been released to Pangandaman’s office to finance ARMM projects for 2008 and 2009 but only P350 worth of projects have been listed as intended “for implementation of agricultural; and infrastructure projects under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in Maguindanao.