On Monday, August 16, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, during his weekly televised address, took a swipe at COA for ‘doing its job.’
To recall, back in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte at the start of his term promised a ‘clean government’ and yet, he bares his teeth at the Commission on Audit (COA) for flagging the Department of Health (DOH) of P67.3 billion worth of ‘deficiencies’ in the management of COVID-19 funds.
“Hindi lang ito pati ‘yung DILG may nababasa ako, pati ‘yung kay Secretary Galvez, mayroon din, flagged, puro flagged, flagged, flagged down.
“Stop that flagging, g**d*** it. You make a report. Do not flag and do not publish it because it will condemn the agency or the person that you are flagging,”
According to the 2020 COA audit, the DOH had deficiencies worth around P66.28 billion that can be attributed to non-compliance with pertinent laws and regulations.
State auditors also noted the health agency, in its various contracts, lacked the procurement process and documentation.
Duterte also perceived that the state agency is [actually] “flogging” (the painful punishment of being repeatedly hit) government agencies rather than flagging.
“The flagging is spelled f-l-a-g-g-e-d. Ang ginagawa ninyo is f-l-o-g-g-i-n-g. Flogging, hampas. Eh huwag naman sige kayong flag nang flag.
“Tapos wala namang napreso, wala naman lahat. And yet you know that when you flag, there is already a taint of corruption by perception.
“You cannot… You know, this COVID-19 will never be won by the way you are also behaving,” said Duterte.
The Philippine President also sided with his appointee, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as he told him: “Wala ka namang ginawang masama, bakit ka mag-resign?”
His criticism did not end there. Duterte even told his Cabinet members to “disregard” the COA report.
“Don’t follow COA… nothing happens anyway. That’s what I don’t like, that flagging.”
Duterte also urged the state agency to let government officials complete their respective projects first before doing an annual audit.
“Do not conduct audit on our work na ongoing pa kasi ‘yan dino-document pa ‘yan… Ngayon kung birahin mo ako ng exit conference tapos deficiency, ganoon, na i-publish mo, I said, that statement of yours in that paper becomes the gospel truth. And it is not fair to the people,” he explained.
COA’s mandate and importance.
According to former Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te, the Commission on Audit is an autonomous body and is not meant to be interfered with by a sitting President.
“The COA is an independent body under the Constitution that does not take orders from the president,” tweeted Te.
COA prevents the misuse of government funds by ensuring that the hard-earned taxpayers’ money is spent properly.
Moreover, the Constitution, specifically in Section 2.2-D, Article IX, said that COA has the authority to:
Define the scope of its audit and examination; establish the techniques and methods required, therefore; and promulgate accounting and auditing rules and regulations, including those for the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties.
Furthermore, in Section 3-D of Article IX, it was explicitly provided that, “No law shall be passed exempting any entity of the Government or its subsidiary in any guise whatever, or any investment of public funds, from the jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit.”
Personalities react to Duterte’s tirade.
Over twitter, several personalities sided with the state agency after Duterte’s lashing.
COA exists precisely for checks and balances. Ang problema, ang gusto ni Duterte at alipores niya, literal na checks lang. Kubrador yan?
— Maria Sol Taule (@soltaule) August 17, 2021
LMAO literally getting mad at COA for doing their fucking jobs https://t.co/LINGeiea6G
— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) August 17, 2021
Sinabi ni Rodrigo Duterte na hindi niya hahayaang kumupit kahit P1,000 ang sinuman sa miyembro ng kanyang Gabinete.
Dapat kasi tipong mga 15-B at 67-B ang halaga para approved kay presidente. Di ba, PhilHealth at DOH?
— For The Defense (@Lawyer_Punk) August 17, 2021
Hindi dapat sunod lang sa Pangulo dahil independiyenteng komisyon ang COA, may natatanging tungkulin bilang tagabantay yaman. Karapatang malaman ng publiko ang ulat ng COA sa paggamit ng pondo at ari-arian ng pamahalaan. Transparency is key for accountability and anti-corruption. https://t.co/wFEwuqFAwM
— Sarah Elago (@sarahelago) August 17, 2021
— Raquel Fortun (@Doc4Dead) August 16, 2021
Hoy commission on audit, wag daw kayo mag audit. https://t.co/WA7ZQnCjhp
— Jai Cabajar (@jaicabajar) August 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/giasison/status/1427453486669602859
https://twitter.com/raymondnaguit/status/1427426783096303662
So 67 Billion was misused by DOH, and he’s mad at the people who made the report? Hahahaha tanga nalang talaga sumusuporta dito i don’t care if you’re family. Tanga ka, bobo ka https://t.co/BiV3jSvzvx
— wartortoise (@paoloumpa) August 17, 2021
Galit sa corruption daw pero ayaw sa COA? Make it make sense. https://t.co/8KNWoZN3tX
— Barnaby Lo 吳宗鴻 (@barnabychuck) August 17, 2021
