Press Release
November 29, 2022

Transcript of Interpellation of Senator Risa Hontiveros
Commission on Appointments Committee hearing on the ad interim appointment of COA Chair Gamaliel Cordoba

November 29, 2022

Senator Risa Hontiveros (SRH) : Ano ang current organizational chart ng COA, sa mga kaso na yung Chair at yung mga commissioner ay lahat away on official travel, ano yung line of succession para yung commission ay nananatiling fully functional.

Ang organizational chart po would be the COA is headed by the chairperson and then meron pong dalawang commissioners, and then under po sa amin ay meron 11 assistant commissioners, yun yung eleven clusters and then under the 11 clusters, meron pong 47 iba't ibang naghahawak ng mga agencies, distributed among the 11 clusters. Actually po Madam Chair, tungkol po, so iyong yung organizational structure.

At ano po yung line of succession kapag yung Chair at yung commissioners lahat away on official travel?

AGC (Atty. Gamaliel Cordoba) : Actually po because wala po, sa dating situation yung walang commissioners, ay hindi makakapag-Commission Proper or Commission en banc, but ngayon po kasi because of the pandemic nagkaroon po ng new normal, and pwede na po magkaroon ng en banc and commission proper through zoom, so yun po yung isang benefit well in a way parang benefit because of the pandemic magfafunciton po yung Commission proper but ang akin namang commitment is like in my case hindi naman ako mahilig bumyahe so ang aking pong pangako dito po sa commission on appointments hindi naman po ako umaalis if you can check my records sa NTC I always stay on sa office dahil marami pong emergencies sa NTC like bagyo and nagkakaroon ng mga sakuna, ay sanay naman tayong hindi umaalis. Maraming salamat po.

SRH: Salamat, Chair. Natutuwa ako makarinig ng mga commitment dahil yun din po yung huling itatanong ko sa Chair, madam chair sa huling paksa ko mamaya.

Ano po yung status ng COA audit backlogs? At paano niyo iniintend na iaddress itong backlog na ito sa panahon ninyo bilang COA chair?

AGC: Actually, meron po kaming backlog talaga, that's admitted po, ang aking pong unang gagawin is ageing po. The use of technology, katulad ng sinabi ko po sa inyo ang isang benepisyo na galing ako sa NTC is very ano po ako sa technology, hindi po ako... versed sa technology so ang pinakaimportante diyan ay yung ageing of cases para matapos po namin yung mga backlog atska po sabi ko nga po sa inyo even if kasi po may mga foreign commitments ang COA ay magagampanan namin ang commission proper in en banc because of Zoom, so bibilisan namin ito sa NTC po nangyari yan sa amin before when we arrived before pero ngayon very minimal na cases sa amin sa NTC docket po.

SRH: So gagamitin niyo po yung ageing of cases, teknolohiya, kasama na yung zoom, ano po yung COA audit backlogs status na gagamitan niyo nitong mga pamamaraan?

AGC:Your Honors, sa ngayon po ang pending cases sa COA ay around 4,000 plus. Medyo madami po siya, but rest assured po ay uubusin namin ito agad.

SRH: Nagulat po ako, Madam Chair, sa bilang ng 4,000 may timeframe po ba na sa loob noon eh sa iba't ibang pamamaraan na sinabi ng Chair ay makapag-catch up sa backlog na ito?

AGC: I think your chair in 2 years time mauubos ito your Honors, gagawan po namin ito ng programa, and rest assured we will submit this to the CA and to the Office of Sen. Hontiveros, to mapakita namin sa inyo ang aming ginagawa and also to ask for the guidance of the CA.

SRH: Ok na pong timeframe ang 2 years sa loob ng susunod na pitong taon at magiging useful po sa Kongreso kahit sa mga taunang budget debates namin at inaasahan ko po yung sinabi ng Chair noong budget interpellations sa COA na partikular yung special audit ng COA sa Pharmally ay finally finally mailalabas na sa Enero dahil sinabi ng Chair noon na sa loob ng dalawang buwan ay magagawa ito. At mabuti po yung finally magaganap na iyon.

Tungkol sa COA powers. All government transactions and all government entities, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, shall be examined and audited by the COA on their expenditures and uses of public funds. There are no exceptions to this constitutional mandate. Furthermore, the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 under RA 11525 and the Government Procurement Reform Act under RA 9184 unequivocally demand transparency and accountability in the government's procurement process. As of this month, the COA has yet to audit the 2020 and 2021 government's procurement of vaccines due to the non-disclosure agreements that were entered into by the Philippine government and the vaccine suppliers. News reports have only stated that the government allocated around P300 billion for the COVID-19 vaccines as there was no official information from the DOH or DOF. The NDAs also infringe on the Constitution which mandates the COA to audit government expenditures.

Bilang Chair ng COA, paano niyo ieenforce yung malinaw niyong constitutional duty na iaudit yung actual expenditure ng public funds kaugnay ng vaccine procurement?

AGC: Thank you, Madam Chair, Actually po nakipag-coordinate na po ang resident auditors sa Department of Health, actually it was based on a letter from the Department of Health mismo sila po yung humihingi ng audit, special audit sa amin, based po sa mandato na binigay sa kanila ng ADB at world bank because of the loan that was given to us for the purpose of procuring the vaccines, so based on that po humingi na po ng aming resident auditors sa DOH itong mga contracts and documents related to the procurement of the vaccine. However, the DOH po at that time, si Sec. Duque wrote to us stating that hindi po sila makakabigay ng mga dokumento na ito because they an NDA with the suppliers, so pagkatanggap namin iyon, we referred it to our legal office but our legal office said that the COA is not bound by the NDAs. So base sa constitution provision that you mentioned so ang aming pong gagawin is magdedemand po kami, demand letter, ang ating resident auditor, at kapag hindi po nila binigay ay sa COA proper level susulat po kami but after that kapag wala po kailangan magisyu ng a notice of suspension and go through the process of disallowance and tuloy tuloy po iyon kasama na yung ibang legal processes which may include issuance of a subpoena your Honors.

SRH: Salamat Chair, Madam Chair. I am very glad to hear na yung sinabi ni Mr. Chair na it may include the issuance of a subpoena pero bakit po "may" pa? Pero bakit ang dami pang dadaanan samantalang may iba't ibang bodies, na kasama na kami sa Kongreso, na ulit ulit na hiningi sa DOH at pagkatapos sa DOF din. Dahil sinabi naman ni Chair, sinabi ng legal office ng COA na hindi kayo bound ng NDA, at under the Constitution may mandato talaga kayo, hindi po ba nag -iinfringe sa Constitution ang NDA, hindi po maiging isubpoena niyo na po?

AGC: Thank you for that Madam Chair, Senator Hontiveros. Dahilan po sa kami ng process Ma'am, yung notice of suspension, (unclear) we are saying that mali po yung kanilang ginagawa, but if they continue with that we issue a subpoena. Baka po naman kasi after that ay magsubmit na po sila ng documents that we need for the financial audit of the government expenditures including the loans granted to us by the World Bank and the ADB.

SRH: Salamat Chair, and Madam Chair, para sa mas categorical na sagot na iyan. So dadaan sa isang preliminary step, yung notice of suspension ng COA, kapag hindi parin binigay yung kumpletong kontrata, yung dokumento, pati yung mahiwagang NDA na yan, isusubpoena ng COA. Salamat Chair at Madam Chair para doon, mas maigi po talaga iyan.

Therefore kailangan pang umabot sa isusubpoena yung NDA, pwede po bang makatanggap ng assurance sa inyong opisina under oath na hindi niyo papayagan ang COA na magrenege muli sa commitment niyo sa commission na iaudit nga itong usapin na ito?

AGC: Your Honors, you have our commitment po na hindi po kami papayag na hindi po maudit itong government expenditure na ito, lalo na yung mga nagpautang sa atin - which is the World Bank and the ADB - ay nagpapa-special audit para dito. Salamat po.

SRH: Ah nagpaspecial audit na rin po ang World Bank at ADB? Oo nga, mabuti na yun na ang magspecial audit kesa kailangan pang hingin ito o iprompt ito ng ating mga loan grantors.

Madam Chair, Chair, huling tanong ko tungkol sa paksang ito, ukol sa special audit request ni DOJ Secretary kaugnay ng BUCOR.

Earlier this month, a huge pit - with a depth of 30 meters and width of about 300 meters, including a cave that was carved out with a height of five feet and eight inches - was found beside the official residence of suspended Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag. Bantag stated that - as a scuba diver - wanted to create the "deepest swimming pool in Manila."

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla recently said that BuCor acting chief Gregorio Catapang formally sent a request letter to the Commission on Audit ("COA") requesting that it conduct a special audit vis-à-vis a number of issues involving Bantag's management of the BuCor.

This includes a memorandum of agreement Bantag entered into with Agua Tierra Oro Mina Development Corporation to develop the 375-hectare New Bilibid Prison Reservation in Muntinlupa City into a commercial, residential and industrial area.

Apparently, the aforementioned agreement was not approved by Sec. Remulla's predecessor, former DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Para po sa huling tanong ko, Chair, Madam Chair, ano na po yung status niyang special audit of the Bucor requested by acting chief Catapang at ano pong mga issues at mga matters na magiging saklaw ng scope ng audit na iyan?

AGC: Thank you for the question Madam Chair, Senator Hontiveros. Nabasa rin po sa media, sa newspaper reports that there will be a request from the Bucor I think the Bucor head right now, General Catapang, already sent his request to the Secretary of Justice, Secretary Remulla.

Insofar as the transmission or yung pagpapadala sa amin ng request na iyan, hindi pa po namin natatanggap. Rest assured your honors, as soon as we receive it magkakaroon po kami ng special audit on that. Ano po, based on the question po ninyo, ginagawa naman ng ating resident auditor but idadagdag natin yung matters of subsistence and medical allowances - yan po yung napaguusapan, decongestion of inmates and other areas of concern that may be requested by the Bucor management.

And ito nga pong sinabing paghuhukay ay titingnan po natin, meron pong authorization yan, and siyempre there is a process for a company to do that within the premises of the government.

SRH: Salamat Chair, Madam Chair sa pagtatayang iyon na kapag natanggap na yung official request mula sa DOJ ay gagampanan na ng COA? At salamat din sa pagbanggit sa usapin sa overcrowding o congestion sa ating mga bilanggua bilang importanteng issue rin po iyan sa mga advocates ng prison reform or mas malawak pa yung criminal justice reform.

Mayroon pala akong nakaligtaan na tanong, Chair at Madam Chair, pero siguro ay maigi narin, kasi intro ito sa huling brief manifestation ko. Ito po ay: COA is a very sensitive office. We always need a Chair who has the moral courage and integrity to stand by what is right and not easily pressured.

So Chair, magpapakita po ba kayo ng kalakasan at hindi kahinaan bilang pinuno ng isang independent constitutional body? Paano po maassure yung publiko na kayo ay magiging independent, impartial at paglilingkuran ang inyong mataas na opisina with the utmost integrity?

AGC: Thank you for that question, Madam Chair and Senator Hontiveros. I would like to assure the honorable members of the Commission on Appointments at pati na rin ang publiko na hindi tayo papayag na magamit or mapressure ang ating Commission on Audit for any political purposes. Makakaasa po kayo na kami ay magiging independent, at aking assurance is that I would also go to you, for guidance, sa mga nangyayari sa aming opisina. Makakaasa po kayo na gagawin namin ang aming trabaho independently, and hindi po maapektuhan ng pressure from any entities.

Kung mapapansin po ninyo, Madam Chair, honorable members of the committee, marami pong lumalabas na imbestigasyon based on the finding of COA. So yun po ay tuloy-tuloy po naming gagawin at hindi po kami matitinag at makakaasa kayo sa amin na tuloy-tuloy na pagtatrabaho.

SRH: Salamat Chair, Madam Chair. Kami po sa Kongreso, gaya ng nabanggit ko kanina, ay sobrang nagagamit namin at nakakatulong sa amin yung audit reports ng COA. That is an understatement. At the minimum, taon-taon, sa budget debates namin. Kaugnay po niyan, I hope that the Chair will ensure that COA will still upload audit reports on your website, kaugnay na rin ng digitalization na kasama ng opening remarks ng Chair noong nakaraan o unang hearing.

Yun yung natira ko pong dalawang paksa at tanong, Chair at Madam Chair. Bilang maikling pangwakas na manifestation, karugtong ng ipinahayag ng Chair noon na pakikiramdam nila sa damdamin at karanasan ng mga tao na naapektuhan ng mga nakaraang kaganapan,

I trust that the Chair will continue to raise the status of his office, occupied by himself, in the eyes of the public, and will uphold the constitutional independence of COA, protecting it from political influence, and carry out the high mandate of the commission impartially by standing firm against political pressure, at sa ganitong paraan gawin talagang ang kanilang pagiging tagapangulo ng COA bilang legacy nila sa serbisyo publiko. So maraming salamat Chair, at maraming salamat Madam Chair.

News Latest News Feed