This is an AI-generated summary and may contain errors. Always refer to the full article for context.
COA Vice President Alexander Juliano says that due to validation concerns, only the publication will be delayed, not the submission of the test reports to the authorities.
MANILA, Philippines – The release of annual audit reports will be delayed this year, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).
During the House Budget Committee’s deliberations on the Commission’s 2025 budget, COA Deputy Commissioner Alexander Juliano explained the Commission’s rationale:
“Therefore, publication on the website is subject to delays and verification of the measures taken by the authorities includes audit observations during implementation, without exemptions or fees (So the publication on our website will be delayed because we need to validate the actions taken by the agencies in response to our audit observations and regarding the implementation of denials or fees),” Juliano said at the hearing on Tuesday, August 13.
The COA official said the delay only concerns the publication and not the submission of the audit reports to the relevant authorities. Juliano said the submission date is still June 30.
He explained that the COA must comply with Section 99 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2023 or the Budget Act 2023. For this year, Juliano said, the annual audit reports (AARs) will be uploaded by December 1.
Section 99 of the GAA 2023 requires all agencies to submit a status report on the actions they have taken based on the audit findings and recommendations within 60 days of receiving the audit report.
The same provision is included in the GAA 2022, but COA nevertheless started uploading its AARs in June last year. Even in previous years, the AARs uploaded as early as June included the declaring agencies.
Before the AARs are published, the COA auditors first prepare an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) to confidentially alert the authorities to transactions. The authorities can respond to the AOMs and explain the flagged transactions. Government entities can provide their explanations until the COA is required to finalize the AARs in the final conference, which is usually held between February and March.
Audit of confidential funds
During the COA’s budget deliberations, ACT Teacher Representative France Castro of the progressive Makabayan bloc asked the COA about the status of the audit of the confidential funds granted to Vice President Sara Duterte.
Specifically, Castro inquired about the status of the audit of Duterte’s confidential funds amounting to P125 million for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022, P500 million for the OVP in 2023, and P150 million for the Department of Education in 2023.
COA Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba said that OVP and DepEd under Duterte had already submitted their liquidation reports and that the COA had made audit actions and findings.
However, Cordoba stated that the results could not be disclosed publicly: “Due to the nature of the funds, these are confidential funds…”‘di po namin madi-disclose (we cannot disclose).”
A House investigation found that contingent funds from the 2022 national budget were converted into confidential OVP funds amounting to P125 million, which Duterte’s office spent in just 11 days. The Office of the President approved the transfer and the funds were released by the Department of Budget and Management.
Confidential funds and intelligence funds are much more difficult to audit because they are exempt from the COA’s standard procedures.
Duterte has no confidential funds this year because Congress rejected Duterte’s request for P650 million in confidential funds: P500 million for OVP and P150 million for DepEd.
At least three groups of petitioners, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, have filed petitions with the Supreme Court challenging Duterte’s confidential funds. The petitioners are challenging the transfer and are seeking the Supreme Court’s help to compel Duterte to return their 2022 confidential funds. – Rappler.com
