(📷:Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has assured the public that it is going through stringent auditing processes carried out by an international firm, afterPresident Rodrigo Duterte the other day called on state auditors to look into the humanitarian organization’s books.
The PRC and Commission on Audit (COA) said the organization not subject to state audits as it is not a government entity.
“Being that PRC is not a government agency, it is not subject to audit by the [COA]. The PRC audit is conducted by a private international accounting firm which is also the auditor of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which receives a copy of the independent audit report,” PRC’s governors said in the statement on Friday.
“Amidst our regular operations and the hundreds of millions entrusted to the PRC by our local and international partners for initiatives in major disasters like Typhoon Haiyan, TS Ondoy, and TS Sendong, to name a few, there have been no findings of any wrongdoing on the part of the institution or its officers,” it added.
During his late night briefing on Thursday, President Duterte claimed that Senator Richard Gordon, who is also PRC chairperson, is using the organization for his political plans.
Gordon and Duterte have figured in a recent spat after the senator’s blue ribbon committee started an investigation on the government’s procurement of supposedly overpriced personal protective equipment when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year.