Let us keep quiet and say no more about the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) controversy. The Supreme Court has spoken, lest we go beyond the bounds of propriety. Let us wait until 14 January 2025, when the supreme judicial body shall have issued its verdict on the world’s worst healthcare scam, to the satisfaction of the poorest of our poor who need medical attention.
Meanwhile, let us relish the good things the Commission on Audit (CoA) has done, and is continuing to do, for the good of our country and people.
One of the good things that could come out after the long wait for the release to the public of the annual audit report is the increase in the assets of state agencies, like cities. One resurging city, for example, after the settlement of its notices of suspension, disallowances, and charges, plus the increase in income from livelihood investments, had an eight billion-peso increase in its assets, from P27 billion to P35 billion.
Next month, from 1 to 15 December, the CoA shall finally post on its website its annual audit report for the calendar year ending 31 December 2023. This report could be considered the best in its 125 years of existence as a state audit institution.
The report includes actions taken by management on all notices of suspension, disallowances, charges and settlements thereof, including the implementation of said findings and recommendations as validated by the auditor.
This action to harmonize and rationalize the deadline set for the publication of the Annual Audit Report on the CoA website beginning calendar year (CY) 2024 onwards was carried out under CoA Memorandum 2024-008 issued by Chairman Gamaliel A. Cordoba on 15 July 2024, pursuant to Section 99 of the General Provisions, GAA for FY 2024 onwards, with the requirements of the CoA policies.
The following events occurred and precipitated the issuance of CoA Memorandum 2024-008:
On 13 September 2023, during the budget hearing of the Office of the Ombudsman before the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said that the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) ought not to be published in the Annual Audit Report. He asked Congress to strike off budget provisions that required the publication of annual audit reports on government agencies.
Martires said that if he had his way, he would not want to make public the AOM sent by the Commission on Audit to various government agencies. Its publication would create innuendo when the cases are eventually resolved.
On 14 September 2023, in a clarificatory statement, the Ombudsman said his request was not intended to protest erring and corrupt government officials and employees.
Many other events occurred similar to that during the budget hearing of the Office of the Ombudsman before the Committee on Appropriations.
On 11 August 2021, the CoA found deficiencies in how the Department of Health managed its P67.32-billion fund to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. This adverse finding was contained in the annual audit report of the resident auditor and came out in blazing headlines the following day.
On 12 August 2021, then Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon sought a Senate investigation of the DoH. “We should investigate the DoH’s handling of Covid-19 funds. The deluge of deficiencies that the CoA findings uncovered are alarming and disturbing,” Drilon said. (To be continued)