The provincial government of Sorsogon announced Monday that its past and present local executives have complied with all Audit Observation Memoranda (AOM) issued by the Commission on Audit (CoA) in 2021 regarding projects carried out during that period.

The statement suggests that a recent complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman against current and former provincial officials, including Senator Francis Escudero, a former governor, is without merit.

Officials characterized the complaint as politically motivated.

In a statement signed by acting Provincial Accountant Sheena Gacosta Credo, Provincial Internal Audit Officer Atty. Cesar Balmaceda, and Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Ron Ely Espinosa, the provincial government asserted that the complainant failed to verify if the AOM recommendations had already been addressed and resolved by the CoA.

"The complainant has not verified if the concerned personnel had satisfactorily complied with the recommendations of the CoA with respect to AOMs as reported in CoA reports for 2021," the provincial government said.

Sorsogon officials further stated that following the responses and actions taken by the officials named in the AOMs, "the CoA had not issued any suspension or disallowance" because their actions complied with the agency’s recommendations.

This compliance was noted in the CoA's 2022 report, officials said.