After Duterte quip vs. state auditors, former exec says COA not the villain

State auditors do not mean to hamper governance and social services, former Commission on Audit commissioner and long-time state auditor Heidi Mendoza said.

Mendoza made the statement in a Facebook post after President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that state auditors ought to be kidnapped and tortured for audit rules that supposedly get in the way of procuring goods and services for the public.

In the post that she asked her followers to share, Mendoza said COA only meant to ensure public funds were spent wisely.

“Ang aming papel ay magbigay ng pagkakataon na maituwid, mapaganda, mai-ayos ang takbo ng paggamit ng pera ng bayan sa paraang may pananagutan at bukas sa pagpuna ng bawat mamamayan o lahat ng may pakialam,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza now serves as the Undersecretary General for the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight.

Prior to his threats on Tuesday night, Duterte said in September that state auditors should be pushed down a flight of stairs after Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos told him that the COA only allowed a P15,000 cash advance for food aid.

The remark was made in a conference after a tropical cyclone hit the province.

On Tuesday, Duterte made the "torture" remark before 4,000 local officials in Metro Manila that gathered for the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order in Pasay City.

“P— ina 'yang COA na 'yan. Leche. Kasi 'yung COA, every time, may mali talaga. Ano ba itong COA na ito? Mag-kidnap tayo ng taga-COA, lagay natin dito, i-torture natin dito. T— ina," Duterte said.

"Sino ba gusto makulong ng ano? Puro 'yan pahirapan. 'Yan ang ayaw ko ang pahirapan. You resolve the meaning of the words in favor of its implementation. Huwag ka sige maglagay d'yan ng hadlang," he added.

A lawyer by profession, the President had questioned how government officials and employees can be convicted in court for violation of COA circulars which for him do not have the force and effect of laws. —NB, GMA News