Duterte hits back at ex-COA chief Heidi Mendoza: I was ahead of you by a mile

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday hit back at former Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza who called him out over his statement advising local officials to ignore regulations on government spending.

Duterte, a lawyer, 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.

"Hindi niya ako malecture-an because I was ahead of her by a mile diyan sa understanding the nitty-gritty," he said in a speech before barangay officials in Malacañang.

"You convict a person by a circular? Not even by a law. And it’s a violation of circular. A circular, what is its dimension? That it reach the level of both the national and local. Umaabot ba sa atin ‘yan pagsabi sa demanda ng circular?"

Duterte said he is willing to take responsibility should COA flag local government transactions in providing humanitarian assistance to the people hit by calamities.

"Basta dumating lang yung pagkain, yung every peso was spent for the food and anything that is kailangan ng tao, ako na ang magsagot diyan. Ako na mismo," he said. "'Pag nasabit kayo, I will answer for it. Do not bother to worry about anything."

At a post-typhoon briefing in Ilocos Norte on Sunday, Duterte urged local officials to defy "stupid" COA circulars, even going as far as telling that a COA employee should be pushed down the stairs.

Duterte made the statement after Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said that COA does not allow cash advances for the purchase of building materials such as GI sheets.

He also claimed that COA has not contributed to national development.

Reacting to the President's remarks, Mendoza said that COA is a "long-standing and dignified institution" and that some of its personnel even laid down their lives "defending and protecting public coffers."

"Give us respect for we deserve it. Government exists not only because of efficiency but also because of dignity... They both fall on our shoulders and even if I'm already retired, I still abide with those as my code of conduct just like most if not all COA auditors I have worked with and I have known!" she said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, however, said the President only expressed his concern on spending limitations with regard to the delivery of assistance in times of crisis. — RSJ, GMA News