Gamaliel Cordoba (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed former National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) head Gamaliel Cordoba as chair of the Commission on Audit (COA) at Tuesday’s hearing, during which he asserted his independence amid scrutiny on his track record.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros joined her colleagues in the CA in endorsing Cordoba, but not without first grilling the COA chair, who had been occupying that post in an acting capacity since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him to the audit agency last month.
It was during his long tenure as NTC commissioner that broadcasting network ABS-CBN was denied a renewed franchise in 2020. Then President Rodrigo Duterte said at that time he would block the network’s attempt to secure a franchise.
At the CA’s Nov. 23 hearing, Cordoba failed to get its nod after Hontiveros brought up his role in the network’s shutdown. She also chided him for backpedaling on his commitment to grant ABS-CBN a probationary permit to continue broadcasting and issuing instead a cease-and-desist order.
‘Political pressure’
The senator on Tuesday reminded Cordoba anew not to give in to “political pressure” and to protect the COA’s integrity while observing its mandate “impartially.”
“I trust that [you] will continue to raise the status of [your] office in the eyes of the public and uphold the constitutional independence of COA,” Hontiveros said.
Cordoba in response said, “I would like to assure the honorable members of the [commission] as well as the public that we will not allow COA to be used for any political purpose.”
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Before his appointment at the COA, Cordoba was the longest-serving commissioner at the NTC, heading that agency for 13 years.
Among his other earlier positions during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration were deputy executive secretary, appointments secretary, head of the Presidential Management Staff, and board member of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
He was in private practice before joining the government, serving at SGV and Co. and the Siguion-Reyna, Montecillo and Ongsiako law firm.
DOH audit
Also at his confirmation hearing, Cordoba said the COA would issue a subpoena requiring the Department of Health (DOH) to submit all documents pertaining to the government’s purchase of multibillion-peso worth of COVID-19 vaccines since 2020.
He said the nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) signed by the DOH with drug manufacturers did not preclude state auditors from scrutinizing the vaccine procurement.
“We will send a demand letter through our [DOH] resident auditor,” Cordoba said. “If they refuse to furnish COA with documents, we will proceed with the legal process, which may include the issuance of a subpoena.”
But Cordoba also noted that the DOH had asked the COA to conduct a special audit, as also requested by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which provided loans to finance the country’s vaccination program.
He said former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had previously sent a letter informing the COA that the DOH could not release the documents since these were covered by the NDAs.
“After we received that letter, we referred it to our legal office, which said that the COA is not bound by the NDAs,” Cordoba said.
Hontiveros, in turn, pointed out that the NDAs “also infringed on the Constitution, which mandates the COA to audit government expenditures.”
“Can we ask for your assurance under oath that COA will not renege again on your commitment to audit these vaccine procurements?” she asked.
Cordoba replied, “You have our commitment that we will not allow that these government expenditures will not be audited, especially because our lenders, the World Bank and the ADB, have asked for a special audit.”