COA seeks to revise 11-year-old rules on auditing intelligence, confidential funds
MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Michael Mallillin on Thursday, September 3, said the state auditor is seeking to revise Joint Circular No. 2015-001, which sets the guidelines for auditing intelligence and confidential funds.
The 11-year-old circular has been repeatedly cited in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. As Vice President and former education secretary, she allegedly misused millions of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023. The trial also exposed concerns and gaps in auditing confidential expenses.
One of the issues COA seeks to address is the supporting documents for proof of payment.
During the impeachment trial, the House prosecution questioned Duterte over the lack of receipts for payments made as rewards and payments for information. Duterte’s office submitted acknowledgment receipts as supporting documents for these payments.
The trial also revealed that Duterte’s Office of the Vice President also used confidential funds for medicine and food supplies, but provided no official receipts. State auditors standing as witnesses said they could not verify the authenticity of the purchases through acknowledgment receipts alone.
COA also wants to clarify how state auditors should handle aliases or code names, including whether their use should be allowed. The current circular does not specify whether aliases may be used.
The peculiar names in the acknowledgement receipts for the payment of information and rewards presented during impeachment trial, such as Mary Grace Piattos, Andy Lim, Alejandro Pikit, have drawn public attention and ridicule.
Duterte’s legal team, however, has neither confirmed nor denied whether the names on the receipts were fictitious.
Mallillin said the commission may set a requirement that would allow at least a state auditor to know the actual identities of the person, “as done in foreign jurisdictions.”
COA also seeks to address questions on the evidence of success and the causal links. Evidence of success is among the requirements for the payment of rewards and information using confidential funds.
The new guidelines also seek to protect the identity of informants.
“However, there should be a balance between protecting the identity but also a point of where COA, based on certain clearances, can actually take a look at the identity of the person without compromising national security and the confidentiality of the activity,” Mallillin said.
COA will also look into the storage of documents and the process of issuing credit notices and how disallowances should be addressed.
During the Senate budget hearing on COA, Mallillin said the commission would coordinate with other government agencies to update the guidelines.
The 2015 circular was crafted by COA, Department of Budget and Management, and Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, and Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations. – Rappler.com
