House panel urged to grant COA’s P8.34 B proposed budget

MANILA, Philippines—The House committee on appropriations was urged Tuesday to grant the Commission on Audit’s proposed P8.34 billion budget for 2013 and restore its P10 million intelligence fund.

COA chairperson Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan urged lawmakers to allow the agency to be granted its full proposed budget, saying that the Department of Budget and Management has earlier reduced the 2013 funding by P695 million–bringing the proposed budget to P7.645 billion.

She requested that a P400 million be restored to COA’s MOOE instead of the DBM’s recommended P196 million.

Tan also requested the panel to look into providing COA with its P10 million intelligence fund which “up to a certain year they still have that. I hope that could be restored.”
“We have many security issues… Our auditors have death threats and gathering information is done manually. It will help a lot if we will be given the intelligence fund,” said Tan.