Auditor who worked on DOH audit report dies of heart attack, ex-COA exec says

Commission on Audit. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — An auditor who worked on the Department of Health (DOH) audit report died due to a heart attack, a former Commission on Audit (COA) official said.

Former COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza said in her personal Facebook post that a former colleague, lawyer Jake Cimafranca, died, possibly due to stress brought on by working for COA.

“Today I weep for my (former) colleague. A COA-UN auditor who just died of a heart attack. He is the auditor behind the DoH report. Stress can kill, please let us offer a minute of prayer!” Mendoza said on Tuesday.

“Sa Team Leader ng DoH, Jake, may heaven open up snd receive your soul together with all our prayers for the country and the institution we served! Condolences to your family and the COA family, especially the Resident Audit Team in the Department of Health,” she added.

Another post from Mendoza revealed that the lawyer also helped draft the audit report concerning the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

“As if not enough Jake, the Team Leader of DoH, is also the one behind the DICT audit report. Audit is life! And I’m sure you will be at peace because you have lived a life meant to serve many! My prayers and gratitude,” she noted.

COA is currently under fire from President Rodrigo Duterte and administration officials and allies like Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for releasing an audit report which showed that there were deficiencies worth P67.32 billion in the department’s COVID-19 funds.

According to the COA, the deficiencies caused by non-compliance with pertinent laws and regulations have led to missed opportunities during a health crisis.

But in his late-night briefing on Monday, Duterte asked COA to stop flagging agencies and refrain from publishing their reports as it taints agencies with “corruption by perception.”

“Stop that flagging, goddamnit. You make a report, do not flag. Do not publish it because it will condemn the agency or the person you are flagging,” Duterte said.

“What you are doing is flogging. Striking. Please don’t. You keep on flagging but then nobody gets jailed, nobody at all. When you flag, there is already a taint of corruption by perception,” he added.

READ: COA finds deficiencies on how DOH manages P67.32-B COVID funds 

READ: Duterte to COA: Stop flagging agencies, don’t publish report 

Then in a House panel briefing on COA’s audit of DOH, Duque lamented how the report provided a damning judgment of the department even if the said report is not yet conclusive.

During the same hearing, current COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo assured that the commission would continue making and publishing audit reports of government agencies despite criticisms from Duterte and Duque.

READ: COA commits to continue audit duties despite complaints from Duque, Duterte