Corruption or COA-Ruption?

**Even the country’s best dentists will refuse to take this job.**

By Ado Paglinawan

Part 3 of 3: Creative legislation can save the day, instead of bickerings

Lawyers like the President can always resort to jurisprudence.

But truth to tell, COA has no prosecutor powers. Its is the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice that must pick up where COA’s buck stops, and proceed with any needed prosecution.

This situation is actually the tail-end effect of Corazon Aquino’s collapsing of the pre-audit powers of COA that as per her discernment at that time was dictatorial on the part of COA and a super-producer of gridlock to development projects.

Pre-Edsa, bureaucracy ruled over creative governance. The weight of a country moving forward was sacrificed in favor of discussions of what was to be disallowed not on what could be allowed.

As we speak, it has become rather obvious that the condition-reflex of government of government officials today has swayed to the other extreme of the pendulum. Post-audit has encouraged lack of strict observance of accountancy standards on the use of government money because no commensurate deterrence is provided by prosecution of auditing offenses. The crooks after enjoying the powers and privileges that came with their appointments to government, have been laughing all the way to the bank as their tenure ended.

Well more than 30 years of post-Edsa from Mrs. Aquino to Duterte, ache for creative legislation to move this question forward, instead of backwards.

Improvement of the System

Conchita Carpio-Morales tried to solve the problem with a Memorandum of Agreement between COA and the Ombudsman’s office. But her Office of Special Prosecution abused their discretion and started filing cases, even before the given periods allotted to government agencies to cure their deficiencies would elapsed. The case became celebrated when the court dismissed charges against Caloocan officials for violation of due process.

So, her replacement Samuel Martires deactivated the MOA.

Instead of a mere MOA, I propose the legislation of a mechanism that will automatically submit to the Ombudsman, audits by COA, for yellow flagging to encourage expedition of compliance completion.

Agencies should not onion-skinned if any deficiency on their part is exposed to public knowledge. What do the agencies expect? That their deficiencies be covered up. This is insane. The agencies are expected to do their work on time.

And even when they are yellow flagged, it is understood that the presumptions of innocence and regularity are in their favor, because due process has not yet expired.

If the agency involved totally fails liquidation, and the COA en banc disallows the deficiencies with finality, a red flag goes up and a dedicated arm of the Ombudsman sets off investigations with a court-filing deadline of not more than 90 days.

Instead of bullying COA, this should be the President’s posture.

After flip-flopping from belligerent instructions to his Secretary of Health, “Huwag mong sundin ‘yang COA, p**anginang COA-COA na yan” (Don’t follow COA) to a sympathetic middle ground “Alam ko walang malisya (I know there’s no malice). You are just doing your duty,” Duterte appears to be mellowing when he suggested that the government auditors put disclaimers to their reports.

From a canine barking “I will stand by Duque even if it will bring me down”, the President now sounds like a pussycat meowing “If Duque offers to resign voluntarily, I will accept it”.

The COA has been granted by the Constitution unequivocal fiscal autonomy precisely because its functions cannot be politicized or influenced by other branches of government, including the Executive Arm. Further, the Constitution made it clear that no entities within the government can escape the scrutiny of COA.

Duterte can still win points here.

Are we stopping endemic graft and corruption, or aren’t we? Are we stopping corruption, as he had boasted, at the mere whiff, or are we trapped into just chasing erring government officials with their loot in tow?

COA’s list in its 2020 Annual Report reached nearly every corner of Duterte bureaucracy and beyond, with the string of reports available to the public on the COA website. This has prompted a flood of comments from netizens commending the audit agency.

According to COA, this is a list of departments and agencies with deficiencies from 2020 to 2021. Read and weep.

Department of Health (DOH)

P67.32 Billion unused Covid-19 funds

P24.64 Billion un-obligated allotments

P1.26 Billion aggregate amount of procured equipment, undelivered, unutilized, and/or without calibration and preventive maintenance

P2.83 Billion infrastructure projects, either idle, unutilized or with substantial delay in implementation

P3.97 Billion various contracts and projects with procedural deficiencies in procurement process and lack of documentation, resulting in doubtful payment transactions and significant delays

P557.67 Million total disbursements non-compliant with established rules, resulting in irregular unnecessary and expensive expenditures

P441.24 Million unauthorized and unnecessary balances in depository accounts as well as fees and other receipts or revenues collected remain unremitted to the National Treasury

P306.73 Million non-obligated for DRRM during state of calamity or national emergency

P95.68 Million value of drugs, medicines and other type of inventories found to be nearly expired or have expired

P65.36 Million deficiencies in the distribution of centrally-procured assets

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) – P15 Billion ‘stolen funds’, P6.9 Billion disallowances, P1 Billion overpayments