COA asks Senate to restore P723M that was cut from proposed 2023 budget

State auditors on Tuesday asked the Senate committee on finance to restore the P723 million that was cut from their proposed budget under the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

During the Senate hearing, Assistant Commissioner Roland Pondoc said the Commission on Audit proposed a budget of P14.5 billion but only 13.8 billion was approved by the Department of Budget and Management under the NEP.

He said there was a P455 million decrease in the COA budget for personal services and a P268 million decrease in the budget for its maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).

“Ang total po na nag-decrease po sa amin is P723 million. And that is why we’re requesting this honorable committee na kung pwede po sana ay ma-restore po ‘yung nawala sa amin na P723 million,” he said.

(The total decrease is P723 million. And that is why we’re requesting this honorable committee if we could restore the P723 million in our budget.)

He said the decrease in the MOOE budget will affect the satellite auditing offices nationwide.

“It will affect the operation cost of our provincial satellite auditing offices in the different provinces. So malaki ‘yung epekto sa auditors (so this has a big effect on auditors),” he said.

COA also said it has a letter addressed to the Senate on why the budget must be restored.

For his part, committee chairman Senator Sonny Angara said the Senate will do its best.

“Just for the record, we acknowledge your request. And also to place in the record that this committee, the Senate, has increased the COA budget for the last four years and probably even longer,” he said.

“So, I think going by history maganda ang batting average natin, including last year and 2021, which were during the pandemic, which were very difficult times fiscally,” he added.

The COA budget was approved at the committee level and recommended to the plenary, without prejudice to possible increases.—AOL, GMA News