Grace Pulido-Tan to bow out in Feb; Palace looking for next COA chief

Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido-Tan. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Thursday said it is now looking for the next Commission on Audit (COA) chief as the agency’s chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan would finish her term in February.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing that Malacañang has activated “the vetting processes that need to take place” to look for the next COA chief.

“Considering the significance of the COA as an independent constitutional body and considering the proximity of the retirement date or the end-of-term date, I think it is well within the regular activity of the executive branch, particularly the Office of the President, to be making the necessary preparations,” Coloma said.

After the retirement of Reynaldo Villar, Tan was appointed as COA chief by President Benigno Aquino III in February 2011.

Villar was appointed by former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2008.

The Supreme Court, however, has declared his appointment unconstitutional.

But the case became moot and academic after Villar resigned on Feb. 22, 2011.

A COA chief is supposed to hold seven years in Office, but Tan would only serve the unfinished term of Villar.