Palace condoles with kin of state audit team leader

Malacañang on Thursday sent its condolences to the family of the state auditor who worked on the Commission on Audit (COA) report on last year’s expenditures by the Department of Health (DOH) and who died before its findings were made public last week.

Former COA chief Heidi Mendoza said Jake Cimafranca, who led the DOH audit team, suffered a heart attack on Aug. 4, a week before the state auditing body published its report on the health department on its website.

“Because we are Filipinos, we of course condole with the family and the friends of the late COA auditor,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said during a press briefing on Thursday. “We condole with the family and in any way that we can help, please let us know.”

Cimafranca would have celebrated his 40th birthday on Nov. 6 this year.

‘Stress can kill’

After learning about Cimafranca’s death, Mendoza posted a message on Facebook expressing her grief.

“Today I weep for my former colleague. A COA-UN auditor who just died of heart attack. He is the auditor behind the DOH report,” she said.

She said “stress can kill,” without elaborating.

“(To the Team Leader of the DOH), Jake, may the heaven open up and receive your soul together with all our prayers for the country and the institution we served!” Mendoza said.

The COA report included scathing comments on “deficiencies” that auditors found in the use by the DOH funds, particularly in the P67.3-billion allocation for pandemic response.

Duque at center

President Duterte defended the DOH and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, saying the government auditing agency should not have published its “preliminary” report that tainted the agency and its officials with “corruption by perception.”

At a House hearing on Tuesday, Duque emotionally criticized the COA for publishing its report without giving the DOH time to respond.

But COA Chair Michael Aguinaldo maintained that due process was observed and that several meetings and an exit conference were held with the DOH before the report was released.

Lawmakers said Mr. Duterte should investigate the DOH instead of scolding the COA for doing its job.