The Office of the Ombudsman. Quezon City. February 19, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File.
MANILA — The chairperson of the House budget panel is open to Ombudsman Samuel Martires' suggestion to remove the provision in next year's General Appropriations Act requiring the publication of Commission on Audit (COA) observation memoranda.
"The Committee on Appropriations is open to studying the suggestion of the Honorable Ombudsman Samuel Martires... and will carefully evaluate the impact and implications of such action," AKO Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co said in a statement.
Co said in a press release that he understood the concerns of the government's chief graft buster.
Martires argued that the COA reports create "innuendoes" and put government agencies and officials in bad light even when the cases are eventually resolved.
"I understand the concern about preventing premature judgments and confusion among the public when reading audit reports. The impact of such publications on government officials' reputations is an important consideration," Co said.
He said the suggestion would be studied "thoroughly."
"We will engage in a comprehensive review to determine the best course of action in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability in government," Co added.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro earlier rejected Martires' suggestion.
"Ano ba naman yan pati ba audit report gustong gawing confidential?" she said.
Nothing in the constitution explicitly requires COA to publish its audit reports, only that it should submit its reports to the President of the Philippines and Congress.