Malacañang on Friday clarified that an “unmodified opinion” issued by the Commission on Audit (CoA) on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) financial statements does not automatically signify an absence of irregularities in the use of public funds.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Atty. Claire Castro explained that CoA’s unmodified opinion pertains solely to the accuracy of financial statement presentation, not the propriety or legality of fund usage.

“Let us clarify the unmodified opinion issued by the COA so that ordinary Filipinos won’t be too confused,” Castro said. “When we say unmodified opinion, it pertains only to the financial statement presentation.”

“This means they simply followed the financial reporting framework, in other words, the format, the contents, everything balanced. But this does not prove that there were no anomalies. Proper reporting is different from the proper use of funds,” she added.

Castro also addressed suggestions that an unmodified opinion indicates a strong commitment to transparency and good governance and cited that CoA’s audit opinion is separate from compliance and performance audits, which specifically assess whether funds were used in accordance with laws and if programs were implemented effectively and efficiently.

“This does not cover by the CoA’s unmodified opinion,” she said.

Castro also cited ongoing issues previously flagged by CoA in its latest reports concerning the OVP as she pointed to a P73 million disallowance for confidential funds, P164 million in confidential funds flagged in 2023, and additional findings related to the OVP’s PagbaBAGo Campaign and Negosyo Ta ‘Day program.

“And to our knowledge, the OVP also mentioned that there is still a flag for 2024 in the CoA report for the OVP,” Castro said, reiterating that these flags suggest potential irregularities despite the unmodified opinion on financial presentation.

Under CoA’s definition, an unmodified (or unqualified) opinion is issued when an auditor determines that financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in accordance with applicable financial reporting standards.

However, CoA has clarified that such opinions apply only to the financial audit section of the Annual Audit Report for government agencies.