OVP gets 'unmodified opinion' from COA for 2023 fund use

Amid corruption allegations, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) secured an unmodified opinion from the Commission on Audit (CoA) in 2023, marking Vice President Sara Duterte’s first full year in office.

An unmodified opinion, also referred to as an unqualified opinion, is issued when the auditor concludes that the financial statements of the audited agency “are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework,” such as those of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and Philippine Financial Reporting Standards.

“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of OVP as of December 31, 2023, and its financial performance, statement of cash flows, statement of changes in net assets/equity, statement of comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies in accordance with IPSAS,” the audit report read.

However, according to CoA, an unmodified opinion does not necessarily mean that the audited agency “fully complies with all the laws, rules, and regulations or that the uses of funds on the agency’s programs, projects, and activities are economical, effective, or efficient.”

Duterte’s predecessor, Leni Robredo, was also rendered an unmodified opinion for four consecutive years from 2018 to 2021. In 2022, before Robredo stepped down in June and Duterte took over, CoA also granted OVP the same remark.

OVP not scot-free

The OVP is under scrutiny amid allegations of irregularities in its use of P500 million in confidential funds spanning from the last quarter of 2022 through the first three quarters of 2023, which were previously flagged by CoA.

In its latest report, the state auditing body also pointed out some issues in the use of OVP’s funds, including the P375.5 million in secret funds spent in 2023 — almost triple the P125,483,600 that the office exhausted in 2022.

The OVP’s maintenance and other operating expenses in 2023 also more than doubled to P1.98 billion compared to the total amount of over P724 million in 2022.

The OVP’s foreign travel expenses last year also ballooned to P11.15 million from P1.49 million in 2022. The sum covered the daily subsistence allowance and “other travel expenses for official foreign engagements and events attended” by Duterte and her security—the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group—as well as “other official members of the delegation.”

Her local travel expenses, meanwhile, soared to P31.4 million in 2023 from P18.6 million in 2022.