President Rodrigo Duterte has challenged the Commission on Audit (COA) to publish criminal cases filed against state auditors, stressing that many of them have been accused of bribery and falsification of documents.
“You know, a lot of state auditors are facing complaints. Most of them are bribery and falsification—helping government officials and teaching them how to evade audits. So not everybody here is really without sin,” he said in a prerecorded Talk to the People aired Tuesday.
Duterte said since there is a law that prevents the Office of the Ombudsman from releasing these documents, the COA should voluntarily publicize them instead.
“You on your own, why don’t you publish the number of criminal cases filed against employees of the auditing office involving corruption also? It is much worse because it’s bribery. You even help people falsify documents,” he added.
Duterte also renewed his appeal to the state audit body to withhold releasing preliminary audit reports to the media, saying it was best to publicize them only after being finalized.
The COA’s 2020 audit report earlier flagged deficiencies that need an explanation from several government agencies, specifically the Department of Health (DOH) for its supposed deficiencies in handling P67.32-billion worth of COVID-19 response funds.
“I respectfully suggest that the preliminary investigation, the results, especially the exit conference… it should be kept not sub rosa [in secret], but don’t release it to the media. Just release the final result,” he said.
Releasing preliminary observations, he said, would only distract the DOH from attending to the prevailing health crisis.
Duterte earlier criticized the COA for the deficiencies found in various government agencies. The President also questioned “who audits COA,” adding he would do the commission’s job if he gets elected as vice president in 2022.
Meanwhile, COA has flagged its own central office over P12.387 million in unliquidated foreign and local travel allowances of its officers and employees.
In the 2020 audit report on the commission, it was also noted that cash advances were granted to accountable officers despite non-liquidation of their previous cash advances.
The report said that the non-liquidation of funds within deadlines violates COA Circular No. 97-002 which provides for guidelines on the granting of cash advances.
“Although the accounting office has been monitoring these cash advances, some officials and employees were still able to obtain additional cash advance/s even without liquidating their previous cash advance,” the audit team said.
COA management told the auditors that P7.663 million have been liquidated as of April 27, 2021.
“The grant of cash advances even if previous cash advances were not liquidated yet was due to the continuous engagement of United Nations auditors, which makes it impossible for them to liquidate immediately the previous cash advances granted,” COA management told the audit team.
Also flagged by the audit team was the overstocking of COA supplies amounting to P9.074 million, resulting in possible wastage of government resources through obsolescence.
The report noted that COA management will consider the recommendations of the audit team to avoid wastage.
The 2020 audit report also stated that there was possible loss of P3.38 million in government funds after a contractor failed to complete and subsequently terminated the construction of the Regional Training Center and Dormitory Building Phase 1 in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The management however told the audit team that they already issued a letter to the contractor informing them of the total receivable due from them.
In a Facebook post, former COA commissioner Jose Fabia said that the audit report is the best evidence that the agency, which audits itself, has a system that works.
“As I said before, COA audits COA. Its auditors do their job with competence, integrity and objectivity,” Fabia said. “This audit report is the best evidence that the Commission on Audit has a system that works.”