DMW vows to strengthen financial safeguards after COA recommendations

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Tuesday that it would comply with the Commission on Audit’s (COA) recommendations to further strengthen its financial controls and assessment procedures for providing assistance to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency welcomes the audit recommendations, particularly those aimed at improving the evaluation of OFWs applying for financial assistance. He added that the DMW would continue to strengthen its safeguards to ensure that assistance reaches qualified beneficiaries.

“We will abide by the recommendations of the COA,” Cacdac said, stressing that the audit observations should not automatically be construed as evidence of corruption or irregularities within the agency.

“These are just continuing process improvements, financial controls and safeguards that we continue to implement,” the DMW chief added.

Cacdac said the DMW received an unqualified opinion from the COA for fiscal year 2025, indicating that its financial statements were fairly presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards.

He also clarified that only about eight percent of the DMW’s budget was questioned in connection with the audit observations.

The DMW chief added that the agency had already responded to the COA observations raised in July and had undergone the usual audit and post-audit exchanges with the Commission.