by David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 05/05/2011
MANILA, Philippines - Commission on Audit (COA) chairman Ma. Gracia Pulido Tan on Thursday outlined her plans for the agency including sweeping reforms on how the COA conducts its audits.
Among the reforms being lined up by Tan are a review of the capacities and specialization requirements of resident auditors and the secondments of auditors to posts outside the country.
Tan said one of the major complaints against some COA auditors is the residency of auditors to choice government agencies, which allegedly leads to abuse.
She noted that some auditors such as former Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) resident auditor Divina Cabrera are accused of staying at just one post for 10 years.
Cabrera has been accused of pocketing 2% of all intelligence contracts.
"We are going to review policy on residency of auditors kasi di ba ang dami mga complaints. Si auditor na ganito, 10 years na...Offhand, that's not good. Staying in an agency for so long is not good," Tan said.
The COA chief said Cabrera is under investigation after a complaint was filed about her extended stay in ISAFP.
"If there is sufficient lead to go on, for administrative investigation, then we can do that. My understanding is may complaint na naka-file. They can work until they are suspended. We do have a process. I don't want to forget that," she said.
Tan said she will not recommend a lifestyle check of auditors just yet since she believes that 95% of COA employees are dedicated to their work.
She said she asked COA's Human Resources Department to do an inventory of the agency's 8,500-plus employees including resident auditors.
She said she had received reports that at least one resident auditor has a secondment to New York City even though there is no ongoing audit in there.
"I want to know why they are there. If I cannot rationalize, they would have to come back," she said.
Auditing intel funds
Tan said COA would also like a review on the rules of audit for military intelligence funds especially since 80% of the expenses are only supported by a certification from the responsible officer. The theft of military intel funds was recently investigated in congressional investigations this year.
"Wala details. I understand the very nature of the intel funds has national security issues. Gusto ko ma-review yun kung ano pwede namin gawin sa audit that will be a little more substantive. Kasi kung ganun, parang clearing house lang kami...Ano limits ng confidentiality? Anu pwede i-detalye ng kaunti? Di naman pwede 80% puro confidential," she said.
She said the COA will also ensure that proper audit techniques will be conducted on projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, considered one of the prime sources of corruption in government.
"Kung magbibilang ng pako, magbibilang ng pako. There are audit techniques maski sa private auditors hindi lahat tintignan, may sampling. The selection of a sample is also scientific so it will be representative. Pag may makita ka sa sample mo umabot ng 90% clean , clean na yan," she said.
'Heidi a big help'
Tan revealed she did not aspire for the top COA post but was prevailed upon to accept it by one of the Cabinet members.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
She said the appointment of Senate whistle-blower Heidi Mendoza as COA commissioner has been a big help to the agency.
"When I was told Heidi will be a commissioner, I said 'Wow, great.' This is someone I can work with. Being a total outsider having had no practice before the COA and not knowing anyone there, I thought she will be a great help. Plus the fact that sabi ko 'Magkautak kami. She's anti-graft. She's for integrity. We speak the same language.' We've been OK, I can really count on her," she said.
source
Showing posts with label heidi mendoza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heidi mendoza. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
COA's Heidi to pork barrel recipients: Beware
WASHINGTON – Pork barrel recipients in the Philippines: be careful, be very careful.
Heidi Mendoza, newly appointed commissioner said the Commission on Audit (COA) is putting into place mechanisms to examine the pork barrel allocations of members of Congress to bring transparency to a process that has been mired in corruption almost from its inception.
She declined to give details or discuss when the audits would start.
Mendoza, invited to attend World Bank discussions on corruption, told a forum attended by mostly Filipino bank employees that the COA was planning to set up a legal fund to take care of the legal expenses of government auditors so as not to inhibit them from doing their jobs.
She said as part of concerted efforts by President Aquino’s administration to fight corruption, a bill has been filed in Congress to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to give it more teeth to investigate and prosecute money laundering offenses.
President Aquino appointed Mendoza as COA commissioner on April 5, the same post she resigned from in 2005 in frustration over the glacial pace of the corruption investigation against former military comptroller Carlos Garcia.
She will take her oath of office on May 23 for a term expiring in February 2018.
A press statement issued by the organizers of the World Bank discussion on “Effective auditing as the bane of grand corruption” described her as a career public official who works tirelessly to identify and root out corruption.
Unable to pursue the case (against Garcia) through the COA, she spoke out to the public, risking her life and career, and her testimony ultimately led to formal charges being filed against Garcia, the statement said.
Mendoza was greeted enthusiastically by World Bank employees when she walked into the conference room accompanied by Sheila Coronel, professor of Investigative Journalism at Columbia University and former executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
“Mabuhay ka,” shouted the Pinoys.
Mendoza spoke of the challenges and difficulties and temptations that have faced her over the years in her battle against corruption.
In the early 1990s, she said, during an audit of the governor of the autonomous region of Mindanao, she was offered half-a-million pesos for every time she did not attend a court hearing.
Before flying to Mindanao she was told she would either end up dead or become rich.
“I was not given the opportunity of choosing an option,” she said in a light vein.
She spoke of the numerous times she and her family had to move house, of the difficulty of traveling with six bodyguards and of the treachery of people “I thought had my back.”
source
Heidi Mendoza, newly appointed commissioner said the Commission on Audit (COA) is putting into place mechanisms to examine the pork barrel allocations of members of Congress to bring transparency to a process that has been mired in corruption almost from its inception.
She declined to give details or discuss when the audits would start.
Mendoza, invited to attend World Bank discussions on corruption, told a forum attended by mostly Filipino bank employees that the COA was planning to set up a legal fund to take care of the legal expenses of government auditors so as not to inhibit them from doing their jobs.
She said as part of concerted efforts by President Aquino’s administration to fight corruption, a bill has been filed in Congress to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to give it more teeth to investigate and prosecute money laundering offenses.
President Aquino appointed Mendoza as COA commissioner on April 5, the same post she resigned from in 2005 in frustration over the glacial pace of the corruption investigation against former military comptroller Carlos Garcia.
She will take her oath of office on May 23 for a term expiring in February 2018.
A press statement issued by the organizers of the World Bank discussion on “Effective auditing as the bane of grand corruption” described her as a career public official who works tirelessly to identify and root out corruption.
Unable to pursue the case (against Garcia) through the COA, she spoke out to the public, risking her life and career, and her testimony ultimately led to formal charges being filed against Garcia, the statement said.
Mendoza was greeted enthusiastically by World Bank employees when she walked into the conference room accompanied by Sheila Coronel, professor of Investigative Journalism at Columbia University and former executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
“Mabuhay ka,” shouted the Pinoys.
Mendoza spoke of the challenges and difficulties and temptations that have faced her over the years in her battle against corruption.
In the early 1990s, she said, during an audit of the governor of the autonomous region of Mindanao, she was offered half-a-million pesos for every time she did not attend a court hearing.
Before flying to Mindanao she was told she would either end up dead or become rich.
“I was not given the opportunity of choosing an option,” she said in a light vein.
She spoke of the numerous times she and her family had to move house, of the difficulty of traveling with six bodyguards and of the treachery of people “I thought had my back.”
source
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