Tag: COA

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Lacson Tenders Resignation of Finance Committee Posts to Focus on Intensified Scrutiny of 2022 Budget, COA Red Flags

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson has tendered his resignation as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and as Chairman of the panel’s Subcommittee C, to give himself more time to focus on scrutinizing the P5.024-trillion budget for 2022, as well as to address the advent of red flags raised by the Commission on Audit in its audit reports of several agencies.

Lacson said the COA’s red flags indicate the “blatant inefficiency, unconscionable incompetence and worse, probable misuse and abuse of public funds in virtually the entire government.”

“I trust that it is to the greatest interest of our people to once and for all, ferret out the truth behind these reports, put value to the oft-ignored COA mandate, and ensure that there will be no ‘sacred cows’ in making accountable those who have blundered the effective and proper use of public monies,” he said in his letter to Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: Ping, Nag-Resign sa Senate Finance Committee
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State Auditors, Sinaluduhan ni Ping vs Korapsyon

Personal na sinaluduhan at hinangaan ni Senador Panfilo Lacson ang mga auditor ng gobyerno sa pagiging listo at maagap ng mga ito sa pagsuri sa kahina-hinalang transaksiyon sa ilang ahensiya na posibleng mauwi sa korapsiyon.

Ayon kay Lacson, kung walang Commission on Audit (COA) na nag-uulat, malayang-malaya ang mga tiwaling opisyal sa pag-abuso at paglustay sa limitado nang pondo mula sa kaban ng bayan.

“Imagine a country without state auditors… kanya kanyang kupit, kanya kanyang kurakot,” banggit ni Lacson sa pamamagitan ng Twitter.

Read in ENGLISH: Lacson Salutes State Auditors for Flagging Potential Corruption
Continue reading “State Auditors, Sinaluduhan ni Ping vs Korapsyon”

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Lacson Salutes State Auditors for Flagging Potential Corruption

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Thursday saluted state auditors for heading off corruption by flagging irregular transactions by various government agencies.

Lacson said that without the Commission on Audit (COA)’s reporting, corrupt officials would have had free rein to misuse and abuse already-limited resources.

“Imagine a country without state auditors… kanya kanyang kupit, kanya kanyang kurakot,” Lacson said in a post on his Twitter account.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: State Auditors, Sinaluduhan ni Ping vs Korapsyon
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On the Commission on Audit’s Independence

First, the Commission on Audit is a constitutional body which is independent of the executive or legislative branches of government, and certainly not under the Office of the President of the Republic. It has a mandate to perform, and no one can dictate on them.

Second, COA findings and recommendations are public documents. Transparency dictates that the public must be informed of how public monies are spent.

That said, the President is out of line in publicly castigating the COA, which is just performing its mandate and responsibility to the people and the Constitution.

For its part, the COA should not be cowed by intimidating statements, even those coming from the Chief Executive. In fact, those in the COA should proceed with more vigor, courage and independence.

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On the Issues Raised by COA on the DOH’s Management of COVID-19 Funds

The issue on the DOH’s management of pandemic response funds will definitely be taken up during the deliberations of the DOH’s 2022 budget, once the Senate starts the hearings before approving their budget. This is among the many other issues hounding the agency.

That said, I remember that during DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III’s confirmation hearings at the Commission on Appointments, I asked him some questions on DOH’s supply chain issues and what he intended to do to resolve those issues. He could not answer my questions satisfactorily, if at all.

Am I surprised that he did not even bother to research in spite of his obvious lack of knowledge on the importance of the supply chain in his department? What gives? It’s hubris. He only cares about his boss, the President who, for reasons only they probably know cannot and will not remove him from office in spite of repeated calls from the majority of senators and other sectors.

Sadly, the issues brought to light by the Commission on Audit report, among others, shows that he doesn’t care about the health concerns of the people who he is supposed to serve.

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