Vice President Leni Robredo during her 2021 Ulat sa Bayan. Screengrab from OVP
Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday urged government agencies to respond to reports made by the Commission on Audit (COA) instead of castigating the commission for doing its mandate.
Robredo said it should have been clear to government officials that they need to follow certain procedures and regulations to prevent corruption in the government.
She reminded them that the job of the COA is to ensure that these processes are being followed.
“We should not take these reports the wrong way. In fact, we are given the opportunity to reply, to explain, to become more transparent about our systems and processes,” Robredo said in Filipino.
“So when these reports and audits come, we must respond. We owe it not only to COA but more importantly, to the public,” added the vice president.
Recent annual audit reports of the COA had called out several national government agencies for irregularities, including an assessment of how the agencies used the state’s pandemic funds.P67-B deficiencies at DOH
The commission flagged the Department of Health (DOH) for more than P67 billion worth of deficiencies by the end of 2020, which pressured lawmakers to seek accountability from the DOH.
It also flagged the Philippine National Police for using only 12 percent or P86.57 million of the P722.95 million worth of anti-insurgency funds it received last year.
Despite strong reactions from some government officials, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar, Robredo encouraged state auditors to continue with their work.
She also reminded officials to work hand in hand with the COA toward true good governance.
“If the job of the COA is to lay out audit reports to ensure that no amount is misspent, the responsibility of government agencies is to explain, respond and clarify questions, and to ensure that, in all their projects, resources are properly utilized,” Robredo said.