House panel mulls Ombudsman proposal on CoA reports

The House Committee on Appropriations, whose primary jurisdiction includes appropriating expenditure for the national government and its agencies, is open to keeping findings of the Commission on Audit off the record in view of Ombudsman Samuel Martires' proposal to call a halt to the publication of Annual Audit Report or AAR.

Contrary to the senior vice chair, Marikina Rep. Stella Qumbo's earlier pronouncement that the panel will retain the CoA's regular publication of initial audit observation memorandum or AOM, Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, the committee chairperson, said Saturday he is open consider Martires's suggestion of removing the publication of AAR from the general provision of the General Appropriations Act or annual budget, which the ombudsman deemed "causes confusion" to the public.

According to Co, his panel "will carefully evaluate the impact and implications" of the disposal of the AAR.

"I understand the concern about preventing premature judgments and confusion among the public when reading audit reports. The impact of such publications on government officials' reputations is an important consideration," Co said.

In the deliberation of the Ombudsman's P4.98-billion proposed budget for 2024 last week, Martires called to remove the publication requirement of the CoA's initial AOM for each government agency to stave off premature corruption judgment against government officials.

"When a case is filed and the case is dismissed, the problem is it creates an innuendo that the ombudsman earned," Martires said. "I appeal to Congress to take a second look at this."

While Co's commitment came late, still, he still vowed that Martires' proposal would be "discussed thoroughly, and we will engage in a comprehensive review to determine the best course of action in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability in government."

Martires' proposal drew backlash from the public and lawmakers, including ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, who strongly opposed the granting of confidential funds to various government agencies.

Martires made headlines right after his pronouncement. Days after, he, however, assured the public that the Ombudsman "is not protecting erring and corrupt government officials and employees with its firm belief that only the Final Audit Report ought to be published and shared with the public since the Annual Audit Report could still be taken up on appeal before the COA en banc and the Court."

Quimbo had previously disclosed that the panel will proceed with the CoA reports publication, and that the 2024 proposed P5.7 trillion national budget has only undergone two adjustments, including eliminating the necessity that Congress submit reports to the executive department.